www.the-triton.com June 2009Vol.6, No. 3

All the wayNew satellite lets crew surf Web across Atlantic. A6

Local knowledgeUp, around the Savannah River. B1

Med spreadA new summer feature.

A12-13

More, C1

TRITON SURVEY

Yes – 98.4%

Do you consider yourself a loyal member of the crew?

No – 1.6%

‘Say the boat is in the yard for three months; no sea time. I worked on a boat that just went to Lyford Cay and back.

There were months we didn’t move. No sea time again.’ — Capt. Ned Stone

By Dorie Cox

Capt. Ned Stone has six months to get five years of sea service in order.

“I’m due for renewal in January, and I’m not exactly sure how I’m doing with my sea time,” he said.

That concern may sound familiar to any number of megayacht captains and crew who have sat still or been unemployed since last fall when the financial markets cut yacht owners’ fortunes in half.

“Say the boat is in the yard for three months; no sea time,” Stone said. “I worked on a boat that just went to Lyford Cay and back. There were months we didn’t move. No sea time again.”

More troublesome, still, may be time spent on boats that doesn’t qualify for the level of license the mariner hopes to renew.

Capt. Chris Harris has acquired enough sea time in his career for six license renewals and upgrades. But two years ago, he took a job at a shipyard to be closer to his young son.

All that time on and around yachts won’t help him maintain his 1,600-ton license.

“The experience here has been tenfold,” said Harris, service manager at Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island. “I am on a variety of vessels rather than the same boat day in and day out, but I can only document limited sea time.”

But there are options when it comes to renewing licenses without enough sea time from both the U.S. Coast Guard and the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The ideal scenario for renewal is a year of sea time every five years in a similar capacity on the same type of water. As mariners fall short of this optimal situation, the renewal process gets more complex.

USCG

For USCG captains without sea time, there are basically three options.

A license renewal is available with an approved refresher training program or an open-book renewal

test at an approved location such as Maritime Professional Training (MPT) in Ft. Lauderdale.

Another option is renewal with marine-related employment, like Harris has at the shipyard.

But before this option is pursued, communication should begin with the Coast Guard to make sure the position – for example, instructor or shipyard superintendent – is approved. There is no complete, clear-cut list of jobs the Coast Guard will accept, said Julie Liberatore, regulatory liaison at MPT.

The final option is renewal without sea time for continuity purposes. This option enables a mariner to, in effect, put a hold on a license for later renewal. In the interim, however, the license is not valid for any work scenario. When the mariner wants to renew at a later time, the standard renewal process must be followed.

For captains like Stone, the big issue is documenting the sea time he has.

When license renewal trips over time

See LICENSES, page A20

Capt. Ned Stone said his biggest issue is that the USCG does not count refit time as sea time. PHOTO/DORIE COX

It happens. Crew get in trouble ashore. Sometimes it’s physical, like a bar fight; sometimes it’s legal, like possession of drugs. Usually, though,

it causes delays or worse for the yacht, her captain and the rest of the crew.

So when a crew member gets in trouble in a foreign port, what does a captain do? Let’s say the yacht is due

to depart, and a crew member is being held by police. Is the trip delayed? Is the crew member fired? What are the liabilities of the vessel, of the owner, of the master when something like that happens?

There are as many answers as there are scenarios, but the megayacht captains gathered for The Triton’s monthly roundtable discussion agreed that they are the ones ultimately responsible, and to blame.

“Legally, it’s your responsibility as the master of the vessel,” one captain said.

“It’s all spelled out in the Master’s Handbook on Ship’s Business (Cornell Maritime Press, 3d edition, 2001),” another captain said. “All the legalities/responsibilities as a master. It’s international, and it’s our responsibility.”

As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person

What to dowhen crew run afoul of the law

From the Bridge

Lucy chabot Reed

See BRIDGE, page A16

A� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Under pressure

Yacht chefs take on a celebrity, and win. Page A4. PHOTO/DORIE COX

WHAT’S INSIDE

Advertiser directory C19Boats / Brokers A10Business Briefs A8-9Calendar of events B17-18Columns: In the Galley C1 Latitude Adjustment A3 Nutrition C9 Personal Finance C15 Onboard Emergencies B2 Photography A14 Rules of the Road B1 Security B3 Stew Cues C9 Superyacht Operations A15

Cruising Grounds: Briefs B13 The Saintes B14-16Dockmaster B4Fuel prices B5Marinas / Yards B6-7Med Spread A12-13Networking Q/A C3Networking photos C2News A1,4-6Photo Gallery A18-19Puzzle C16Technology B1-12Triton spotter B19Triton survey C1Write to Be Heard A23

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A�LATITUTE ADJUSTMENT

The crew of M/Y Turmoil continues to live the dream, off now in the South Pacific. Regular readers of The Triton may recall reports from Turmoil Capt.

Grant Maughan over the past few years of visits to Buenos Aires, Scandinavia and most recently the Solomon Islands.

This spring, they were in Tahiti, checking out the Billabong Pro surfing contest at the legendary wave

at Teahupoo. Naturally.Because the yacht is so lovely, and

the crew so friendly, nine-time world surfing champ Kelly Slater stopped by for a visit.

“The girls have been ga-ga ever since,” Maughan reported in an e-mail with this photo. (From left – still a bit star-struck – are Michelle Pugatschew, Slater, Becky Alpizar and Roxy Ellis.)

I love getting photos from Turmoil. Her crew is out there exploring and having fun, and I want to shout that news from the top of someplace very high. I’ve told Capt. Maughan more than once that many of us are living

vicariously through their adventures, so keep them coming.

But the best thing is that Maughan and the crew are so gracious and pleasant about sharing their news.

Doesn’t that sound odd? Of course, they are pleasant. They are living the dream.

But too often I hear crew complain about their travels, even when they go someplace as magical as the South Pacific. There’s usually someone to blame for what they perceive is wrong with their job or their life, and somehow, events just go wrong.

I want to smack them.

I lost my brother in May. He died of skin cancer. He was 46. At the end of his life, he had trouble breathing. Breathing. Think about that for a moment. It makes you take a deep breath, doesn’t it?

It makes me want to visit my doctor more than once a year. It makes me want to take more yoga classes and more walks on the beach. It makes me want to hug my husband more and tickle my daughter more.

And it makes me want to stop complaining, even as the newspaper industry crumbles around me and as my journalism friends get laid off.

Sound familiar?I have a job; I have a business. And

though we’re a bit thinner than we were a year ago, our crew is bigger and our reach is farther. We’re taking this time to redefine ourselves, work on bigger stories, do some training and work harder to be even better. We’re taking deep breaths.

But the best thing is that we have a fabulous crew. We all love to come to work every day, even though we work really hard, because we care about each other, and we miss each other when someone leaves. (Mike Price is in the Med this summer, and we miss his smiling face so much that we’ve taped up a picture of him so we can see it.)

Yacht crew are the same way. Crew work so closely together that they become family, fast. Don’t treat the people on your boat like strangers. When you let them in, you begin to care about them, and the complaining ends.

But that’s the hard part for most of us, isn’t it? Letting people in. It’s easier to complain. Breathe deeply, and try again.

Have you made an adjustment in your latitude recently? Let us know. Send news of your promotion, change of yachts or career, or personal accomplishments to Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.

To live the dream, start by turning down the complaints

Latitude adjustment

Lucy chabot Reed

A� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

By Dorie Cox

Ostrich was cut, candied cherries drained and foie gras shaped for judging in Grateful Palate’s Yacht Chef Challenge in late April.

The event at the Ft. Lauderdale market and restaurant invited Food Network’s “Chopped” winner – former yacht chef Jackie Lee – to cook with

yacht chefs chosen by raffle from the audience.

Mystery components required in entrée and dessert categories were announced as the timer started for two teams composed of two chefs each. The duos used every one of their allotted 45 minutes in attempts to create a winning dish.

Dirk De Cuyper, chef on M/Y Polar Star, met and became teammate with freelance chef Brandon Wooten. They competed against Lee and her teammate, freelance chef Sylvia

Bauerschmidt.De Cuyper and

Wooten won the entrée competition with duck liver celeriac, carrots and microgreens draped with ostrich and fried root drizzle with brandied cherries.

“It was great trying to cook with someone I’ve never met,” Wooten said. “It’s challenging but that’s sometimes when the best stuff comes out.”

Lee and Bauerschmidt prepared seared ostrich topped with foie gras and crispy onions. It was served with a cherry demi-glace reduction and accompanied by a fennel salsify mash.

“The competition was like being on a yacht when guests tell you their preferences 45 minutes before the meal,” Bauerschmidt said.

Three staff from the Grateful Palate were joined by judges from the audience for both the entrée and dessert competitions. Entrée judge was John Herringshaw of South Africa, where ostrich is a common dish.

And for dessertWild hibiscus, coconut milk and

chocolate were the mystery ingredients for the dessert competition.

Gavin Opie from M/Y Silver Moon teamed with freelance personal chef Alleen Santana, also meeting each other for the first time.

They took on shipmates Remo Maute and Mike Nichols, who got the luck of the raffle draw. The two already work together on M/Y Excellence III.

“Gavin said we’re going to poach pears and I said I’ll do the coconut milk,” said Santana on their teamwork and their winning dessert. “We didn’t have to talk much after that.”

Richard Sackett was chosen from the crowd to be dessert judge. His yacht, M/Y Picasso needed a chef so Sackett and his wife, Joyce, came to see yacht chefs in high-pressured action.

Sackett, from New Orleans, was unfamiliar with what to expect in a dish prepared with hibiscus.

“Oh yeah, I have hibiscus every morning for breakfast,” he joked.

Event winners received knives from Culinary

Convenience and Opie, voted most valuable chef of the evening, won a silver serving piece from Yacht Next.

Dorie Cox is a reporter with The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

Jackie Lee and Sylvia Bauerschmidt in full concentration.

Dirk DeCuyper and Brandon Wooten whip up the winning entrée.

Remo Maute and Mike Nichols taste the competition as Alleen Santana describes her winning dessert, below. PHOTOS/DORIE COX

CHEF COMPETITION

Yacht chefs create, shine, with just 45 minutes to prepare

Gavin Opie, above, preps a pear for the winning dessert, pear in hibiscus glaze with cinnamon, chocolate mousse, coconut milk with red chili sauce and deep fried wild hibiscus flower.

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A�

The United States fined the owner of M/Y Mystere $150,000 for having the pelts of endangered animals on his boat without the proper paperwork.

Officially, Customs and Border Protection officers charged the owner, a Cayman Islands-registered corporation, with illegal importation of wildlife for carrying onboard 29 skins, hides, pelts, tusks and mounted animals.

The discovery was made in Port Everglades in December 2007. The fine was imposed in May by a U.S. District Court judge in Miami.

The items in question were confiscated and, according to The Miami Herald, will be displayed in ports and airports around South Florida.

A former captain said the 150-foot vessel has visited the United States “several times” in the past 10 years, always with these and similar items onboard.

Last summer, he said, authorities in France confiscated several items, including furs, feather headdresses and even conch shells because the owner lacked the paperwork to prove they were obtained legally.

Sardinia luxury tax repealedThe Sardinia luxury tax that cost

visiting megayachts and private jets up to 15,000 euros to dock and land has

been repealed.Local authorities in Sardinia voted

in early May to cancel the tax, which was opposed by several tourism groups on the Italian island.

The number of yachts visiting Sardinian ports since the tax went into effect in 2006 has dropped by 50 percent, according to the Consortium of Sardinian Tourist Ports.

U.S. vessels need piracy planThe U.S. Coast Guard issued a

maritime security directive May 11 in response to the rise in piracy in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa.

Maritime Security Directive 104-6 (rev. 2) requires U.S.-flagged vessels to have an approved anti-piracy plan before entering high-risk waters that includes the hardening of rigging and operating vessels in a manner to prevent attacks and subsequent boarding, according to a USCG statement.

The directive applies to any vessel regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002, which are commercial vessels

of 100 gross tons and greater. Private yachts, even those that charter in the United States, aren’t considered commercial, but commercial regulations often trickle down into yachting. (The complete directive was not made public for security reasons.)

Commercial ships also are required to use established transit lanes and erratic maneuvering, increase speed, and cooperate with military forces patrolling the area. It is the ship’s responsibility to maintain a vigilant anti-piracy watch and ensure all shipboard anti-piracy precautions are in force.

Vessel security plans for U.S. flagged vessels that operate in high-risk

waters must have security protocols for terrorism, piracy, and armed robbery against ships that meet the performance standards in this directive by May 25, the directive states. All vessel security

plans must be approved.“Piracy presents a multi-faceted

threat to the United States, our international partners and the

NEWS BRIEFS

Owner fined for endangered animal skins

See NEWS BRIEFS, page A6

The directive includes details on anti-piracy tactics to prevent attacks and boardings.

A� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton NEWS BRIEFS

maritime industry and the seafarers who make their living on the global maritime transportation system,” said Rear Adm. Brian Salerno, assistant commandant for marine safety, security and stewardship.

“The Coast Guard has a unique role to play in response to this threat and we remain committed to working with our governmental, defense and industry partners to bring pirates to justice and to help provide for the safety of mariners upon the high seas.”

In other piracy news, ships from Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 prevented a piracy attack in the Gulf of Aden on May 13, which resulted in the apprehension of more than a dozen suspected pirates aboard an alleged mothership.

Luise takes over marinaLuise Group, an associate partner

of yachting agents BWA Yachting, has taken over the Ponente Quay (Molo di Ponente) of Lacco Ameno on the Island of Ischia off of Naples, Italy. The marina, known previously as Heaven’s Quay, has been renamed The Seventh Heaven Yacht Club.

The Seventh Heaven Yacht Club, located on the northern part of Ischia, can accommodate 12 megayachts. The 140m pier includes water, electricity and mooring posts.

“We are very proud to be able to take under our management the main dock in Lacco Ameno, Ischia,” said Francesco Luise, managing partner

of Luise Group. “Although the area of Lacco Ameno is one of the smallest counties on the Island of Ischia, it is a prestigious and visually beautiful location for mega yachts to berth.”

New road for refits at METSThe SuperYacht Pavilion (SYP) at

METS this fall will feature an all-new “Repair & Refit Boulevard” designed to emphasize the sector that services and maintains large luxury yachts.

“The SuperYacht Pavilion is the only part of METS where services in addition to marine products can be promoted,” product manager Irene Dros said in a statement.

“We made the distinction because the service element is such a crucial aspect of superyacht operation. Ignoring it could devalue METS as a unique B2B learning experience for the captains, project managers and other superyacht professionals who visit the exhibition.”

“The SuperYacht Pavilion at METS is the perfect meeting point for owners, captains, and project managers to explore their next top-quality refit or repair project with experts in the field,” said Victor Caminada, marketing manager of Amels Holland, in explaining why Amels has attended the Superyacht Pavilion the past three years. “For the Amels Refit & Repair department this is the place to be.”

METS, the Marine Equipment Trade show, is scheduled for Nov. 17-19 in Amsterdam. It is the largest trade exhibition of equipment, materials and systems for the marine leisure industry.

NEWS BRIEFS from page A5

METS adds repair/refit portion to emphasize service sector

A new satellite that covers the Atlantic Ocean went operational in early May, giving crossing megayacht crew members one more thing to do to pass the time.

“While transiting the Atlantic, I am surfing the Web,” Menkin Nelson, a freelance captain, wrote in an e-mail.

“The first three vessels to hook up to the new satellite were S/Y Maltese Falcon, M/Y Big Eagle and M/Y Fortunate Sun,” she wrote. “Since the first two were sitting in the Azores at the time, Fortunate Sun was the first to use it while in transit and I must say, it seems to be working great and we are pretty pleased.”

The new satellite, the T11, was launched in February. Testing was complete on April 26. In early May, satellite communications providers NSSL and Telemar Scandinavia were the first to make it available through

NSSL’s CruiseIP and Telemar’s Seacall services.

“We are committed to extending the reach of our CruiseIP service for the simple reason that it is what our customers demand,” said Sally-Anne Ray, sales director at NSSL. NSSL may launch a prepaid crew platform this summer.

“The possibility for trans-Atlantic crossings with uninterrupted Ku-broadband services, through one meter antennas, has been a requirement by the international shipping industry for some years and will most likely result in an even stronger demand for maritime broadband services worldwide,” said Kristian Ryberg, director of business development for Telemar Scandinavia.

For more information, visit www.satcom.com or call +1 954-523-2539.

– Lucy Chabot Reed

New satellite keeps Internet on even in middle of the Atlantic

A� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

BWA Yachting, a yacht agency services firm, has expanded operations to the South of France and Corsica through a partnership with Monaco Port Services.

BWA Yachting recently opened an office in Cannes, with plans to open in Antibes and Saint-Tropez. An office in Corsica will be in Porto Vecchio.

“The extensive network of megayacht marinas and facilities in both the South of France and Corsica provide the perfect environment for those yachts visiting short term or those staying year round,” said Stefano Tositti, CEO of BWA Yachting.

“With the support and guidance of our local partners at Monaco Port Services, Pierre Balducchi and Xavier Paris, we will be able to provide the high quality services to the yachting industry in the Cote d’Azur and in

Corsica, just as we do throughout the rest of the Mediterranean and beyond.”

For more information, visit www.bwayachting.com.

BWA also opened an office in May in Palma with partner BcN Yacht Services. The office is a 10-minute walk from Club de Mar.

“The Balearics are becoming more and more popular every year with an increasing number of megayachts visiting in high season, as well as many who lay up there for the entire winter season,” Tositti said. “This new office in Palma will permit us to supply a comprehensive set of services year round with the best suppliers in the area.”

Crew Unlimited opens in AntibesThe Ft. Lauderdale-based crew

placement agency Crew Unlimited has

opened a summer office in Antibes. With a staff of two under the direction of senior placement agent Sue Price, the agency can interview and prescreen crew on both sides of the Atlantic.

Also, C U Yacht Charters will offer first-hand advice to clients hoping to book charters in the Mediterranean.

Find the office at 30 Rue Lacan in the Galerie du Port, +33-04-92-38-05-58, www.crewunlimited.com.

Nautic Air distributes in EuropeSchuman Nautic Air has reached

an exclusive distributor agreement with Vortech International Ltd. Vortech will locate and appoint dealers throughout Europe to sell and install the patent-pending Nautic Air in-line air-purification system.

The Nautic Air system uses a proprietary combination of ultraviolet

(UV) light and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) to produce hydroxyl radicals, which reduce mold, bacteria, viruses and other volatile organic compounds in the air. The system emits no ozone or other environmentally harmful by-products. In-line modules can be installed into existing HVAC ductwork.

“There is a heavy demand from European boat and yacht owners for a product to help eliminate air contaminants aboard their vessels,” said Heath Schuman, president of Schuman Nautic Air. “As the exclusive Florida distributor, Vortech has already sold and installed many Nautic Air units, and I am confident they will repeat their success overseas.”

Vortech is responsible for the sales, installation and service of Nautic Air throughout all of Western Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

For more information, contact Vortech at peter@vortechsys.com or +34-619-117935.

Needle Loft opens in FloridaConnecticut-based Needle Loft has

opened a facility at 277 S.W. 33rd St. in Ft. Lauderdale. Needle Loft provides design, production and installation services for complete yacht interiors, including flooring, wall coverings, headliners, window treatments, countertops and fabric bedding and cushions.

Needle Loft also makes its own line of custom upholstered marine furniture, which will also be made in Ft. Lauderdale. Needle Loft sells both directly to boat owners as well as offering its services as a subcontractor to the trade.

Started in 1964, Needle Loft has grown from a New England-based canvas products business into full luxury yacht interiors.

For more information, call +1-954-294-8593 or visit www.needleloft.com.

Monaco Equipage turns 15Monaco-based superyacht crew

recruitment firm Monaco Equipage will celebrate 15 years in business this summer.

“I would like to thank our hundreds of satisfied customers,” co-founder Gilles Corporandy said in a statement. “You are our best reference.”

Monaco Equipage specializes in matching qualified, experienced and screened crew with the top yachts and yacht captains operating internationally.

For more information, visit www.monacoequipage.com.

Round-trip packages from DYTThis summer, Dockwise Yacht

Transport is offering a round-trip package that will deliver vessels

Ship’s agent BWA Yachting expands in France, the BalearicsBUSINESS BRIEFS

See NEWS BRIEFS, page A9

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A�

from Ft. Lauderdale or Newport in early August to Sardinia, Italy, in late August. The return trip from Palma is scheduled for late October.

“With the roundtrip package, this is a great opportunity for owners who have thought about using our service to give it a try,” said DYT President Clemens van der Werf. “It’s especially perfect for owners who have dreamed of cruising the Med on their own boats that don’t have the range to get there.”

For more information, e-mail dyt.usa@dockwise-yt.com or call toll free in the United States 1-866-744-7398 and mention “package deal to the Med.”

MMS hires StrumpfMarina Management Services

(MMS) has hired Herk Strumpf as an associate in the Boca Raton office. Strumpf will help provide consulting and management solutions to clients who have requested assistance adjusting and reacting to the changing landscape of marina development and operation, the company said in a statement.

Prior to joining MMS, Strumpf was senior project manager for Beacon Design International, an engineering firm designing marina facilities and waterfront developments. Herk also worked with Brandy Marine International developing project feasibility studies including comparable market analysis and financial analysis for clients.

Strumpf has presented at marine industry trade shows and conferences on waterfront design, development and management practices and has presented documented sworn testimony regarding the industry to cities and towns. He is also a pilot, vintage aircraft owner, and boater.

For additional information, visit www.marinamanagement.com or call +1 561-338-5800.

Bauman a top woman in boatingBetty Bauman, founder and CEO

of “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!”, has been named one of the 11 top women in American boating by BoatU.S. Magazine and featured in the May issue.

“This energetic entrepreneur earned her place in the U.S. sportfishing pantheon not so much by catching fish as by hooking other women on the sport,” said the magazine’s Managing Editor Elaine Dickinson. The magazine credited Bauman and LLGF for introducing more than 5,000 women to fishing and boating since 1997.

Bauman has also been named “Woman of the Year” by the American Sport Fishing Association and among

the Top 21 Most Influential Marine Industry Leaders in the 21st Century by Boating Industry magazine.

LLGF conducts four weekend seminars each year and brings a team of sportfishing and marine industry professionals who teach women fishing and conservation techniques at beginner and advanced levels. For more information, visit www.ladiesletsgofishing.com

Navionics hires sales manager

Navionics, a manufacturer of electronic chart and digital navigation data, has hired Paul Michele as the new southeast regional sales manager for Florida and Georgia.

Michele brings more than a dozen years of experience in the recreational marine industry and customer service skills to the team. Previously, he was eastern region advertising salesman with Florida Fishing Weekly and general manager of Yo-Zuri America. An avid angler of both fresh and saltwater species, Michele is a tournament angler with the SKA, PTTS and Florida regional tournaments.

For more information, visit www.navionics.com

LLGF’s Bauman honored as a top woman in U.S. boating

BUSINESS BRIEFS

NEWS BRIEFS, from page A8

A10 June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton BOATS / BROKERS

Northrop and Johnson has sold M/Y Aghassi, a 145-foot Christensen, by brokers Gregg Morton and Steve Doyle; and S/Y Victoria of Strathearn, a 130-foot Alloy, by broker Hank Halsted in conjunction with Fraser Yachts Monaco. Victoria won the 2001 International Superyacht Society award for Best Sailing Yacht less than 40m and the 2001 ShowBoats Best Design Award for Sailing Yachts over 38m.

The brokerage also announced the following new central listings:

M/Y Moon River, a 101-foot Palmer Johnson, with broker Gregg Child in Ft. Lauderdale; M/Y Andiamo, an 82-foot Monte Fino, with broker Rick Weisenberger in San Diego; and M/Y Kauhale Kai III, a 75-foot Sunseeker, also with Weisenberger.

International Yacht Collection in Ft. Lauderdale has sold two vessels:

M/Y Inspiration, a 156-foot (47.5m) Broward, by Mark Elliott and Frank Grzeszczak; and M/Y Big City, a 123-foot (37.5m) Palmer Johnson, by Chany Sabates III and Grzeszczak.

IYC also has added the 173-foot (52.7m) M/Y Jr Navigator to its central listing, taken over management of Big City and added M/Y Natalia, a 120-foot (36.5m) Palmer Johnson, to its Med charter fleet.

Fraser Yachts has sold M/Y Fansea, a 109-foot Cyrus, by Jan Jaap Minnema of Monaco; M/Y Aviva, a 108-foot Monte Fino, by Patrick McConnell of San Diego; and M/Y African Queen, a 100-foot San Lorenzo.

The brokerage announced the following new central agency listings:

M/Y Monte Carlo, a 132-foot Amels; M/Y Touch, a 120-foot Derecktor; and M/Y Steadfast, a 112-foot Baratucci.

It has the following new central agency listings for charter:

M/Y Mystique, a 165-foot Oceanfast in the Bahamas; M/Y Inevitable, a 164-foot Feadship in Croatia; M/Y Major Wager, a 160-foot Feadship; M/Y Newvida, a 160-foot Delta in the Western Mediterranean.

CRN shipyard in Italy has launched the 60m M/Y Blue Eyes. The steel and aluminum megayacht includes the aft area of the lower deck that is designed to function as a beach club, with the stern hatch lowering nearly flush to the water. Another distinctive feature is the balcony of the owner’s suite, thanks to a hatch that can be lowered 90 degrees.

M/V Sea Wolf – at 193 feet, one of the world’s largest converted salvage-tow ships – has begun a six-month refit at Knight & Carver YachtCenter near San Diego.

Under the direction of Project Manager Rob Wright, Sea Wolf will

undergo the extensive $4.1 million project that includes renewal of its five-year ABS certification. Completion is scheduled for mid-September. Wright, a former yacht captain, is collaborating with Sea Wolf Capt. Drarg Richards.

Built in 1957 in Holland, Sea Wolf was converted to a private yacht in 2002. The vessel is now owned by a Canadian businessman with a penchant for antique aircraft.

Previously, Sea Wolf served as a salvage tow vessel, pulling large distressed vessels into safe harbor, largely operating in the North Sea off Northern Europe.

“She’s been in service for more than 50 years and hasn’t spent much time tied to a dock,” Wright said. “She’s a beautiful work horse.”

Platinum Marine Services launched the 120-foot M/Y Spirit of 2010 at the 2009 Vancouver International Boat Show in February. The custom yacht refit project was commissioned by a Vancouver firm that plans to use the vessel for charters.

Platinum began the project from a decommissioned yacht. Stripped down to the hull, Platinum built the yacht to Transport Canada safety standards. The interior was designed by JS Westoff and Co. of Kansas. The electrical and domestic systems were designed and built in-house at Platinum.

For more information visit www.PlatinumMarineService.com or call +1-604-325-6920.

Denison Yacht Sales, a brokerage and charter firm in Ft. Lauderdale, opened an office in Southern California in Marina del Rey. The new office includes five licensed brokers. For more information, call +1-310-821-5883 or visit www.denisonyachtsales.com.

Brokerages sell yachts, add to charter fleets; builders launch

Project Manager Rob Wright. PHOTO/JOHN FREEMAN

IN THE MEDITERRANEANA1� June 2009

By Alison Rese

More than 25 million travelers pass through Palma’s airport every year, making the island of Mallorca one of the busiest destinations in Europe , especially in summer.

During the relatively tourist-free winter months, however, many Mallorca-based businesses roll up their carpets and re-open again only in April.

Yet it is during this time of year that workers in the island’s shipyards roll up their sleeves and get set for their busiest work period.

Astilleros de Mallorca in Palma is the largest shipyard on the island. The season is divided in two, according to Stefan Enders, the yard’s commercial manager: from September to December, the Caribbean work for boats heading to the tropics, and from January on for those preparing for the Med cruising season.

Astilleros moves about 120 boats a year through its 67-year-old facility, a majority larger than 120

Capt. Brendon Matthews and Charlotte Boden of M/Y Kurokai left Mallorca in May for a five-month cruise with the owner.

PHOTO/ALISON RESEM/Y Blue Bird was refit at the Astilleros yard and won the 2008 World Superyacht Awards for best refit.

PHOTO FROM ASTILLEROS

When tourism season quiets in the Med, Palma’s repair/refit season heats up

Astilleros de Mallorca in Palma is the largest shipyard on the island and is coming off its busiest season. PHOTO FROM ASTILLEROS

See MALLORCA, next page

Spanish island’s largest shipyard has had a busy winter; managers expect more of the same in �00�.

www.the-triton.com The Triton A1�IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

M/Y Blue Bird was refit at the Astilleros yard and won the 2008 World Superyacht Awards for best refit. PHOTO FROM ASTILLEROS

When tourism season quiets in the Med, Palma’s repair/refit season heats up

Astilleros de Mallorca in Palma is the largest shipyard on the island and is coming off its busiest season. PHOTO FROM ASTILLEROS

MALLORCA, from previous page

feet. Visiting vessels in the past year include the motoryachts Passion, Cyan, JJ Esperanza, Asteria and Shandor, and large sailing vessels such as TMS Creole, LA Cattiva and Galileo.

Some vessels and their captains have been returning to the yard every year for 25 years, said Enders, who credited the shipyard’s habit of delivering projects on time and on budget.

“Astilleros is a trusted name amongst all the top captains,” Enders said.

While the number of boats coming through the yard has not decreased, Enders said both captains and owners have trimmed back on the extent of the projects they will undertake.

“2008 was one of our best years ever,” General Manager Diego Colon said. “2009 will be no different. We are not looking at the current economic trend as a downturn at all.

“Instead,” he said, “I feel certain more owners will take advantage of these times to purchase reasonably priced vessels. Upgrades and refits of these will see the yard’s business flourish rather than flounder.”

And so the season went. In news of other megayachts in Palma this spring:

M/Y Kurokai, just out of the Portals boat yard, has set off on its long-standing plans for a five-month cruise to Croatia with the owner on board.

The vessel left Mallorca on May 11, stopping en route in Menorca and Corsica.

M/Y Newflash skipped its yard period altogether this year.

Capt. Aidan Piercy said he’s been busy getting her ready for a busy charter season.

Alison Rese is a freelance writer based in Palma. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Capt. Aidan Piercy of M/Y Newflash skipped the yard period entirely this year to prepare for the charter season. PHOTO/ALISON RESE

A1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Welcome aboard photo enthusiasts. This is the third installment covering things to do in researching a camera, using the example list of specifications

you can find on such Web sites as dpreview.com.

I continue to add my clarifications to this list of specifications to give you greater insight as to what each spec means. The product represented is the Lumix DMC-FX150

camera, manufactured by Panasonic. Again, this product was randomly chosen for this article and it is not a recommendation.

Moving on from image stabilization (IS) last month, we continue with:

Auto Focus: TTLAuto focus or AF means you do

not worry about focusing to take a shot. The camera will do it for you. TTL means “through the lens.” It’s also used in metering light for the proper exposures, and in flash terminology.

There are several ways to determine focus. A camera can send out ultrasonic sound like a sonar device, or send out infrared light to reflect back from a subject. These are active systems.

Then there are passive systems that will, for instance, compare/contrast in a scene to determine distance. This is beginning to get detailed; pocket camera manuals don’t even begin to get into these details.

Pressing the shutter half-way down gets the camera to focus. You will find the AF may work quickly in good light, slower in low light, and get confused when shooting through glass or screen.

Manual Focus: NoThis camera does not allow for

manual focus, making it one less thing to worry about. On the other hand, there are situations when a camera focusing system will get confused, as mentioned above, and in the meantime will not expose (shoot) and you miss snapping a special moment.

Taking pictures through glass, into mirrors, of quick-moving objects, or attempting to capture an action at a specific point are times when a manual focus override comes in handy. You can set your own focus point or pre-focus for the action, and instantly shoot.

Normal focus range: 50 cmThis minimum of 50 cm is about 20

inches. If you are shooting the beauty of your lover’s eyes at a closer distance, you need to switch to macro.

Macro focus range: 5 cmThis is 2 inches. Now you can get

close to those eyes. Don’t operate your

zoom in this mode or it will not work properly. The lens has to be full out, otherwise you get fuzzy shots.

White balance override: 5 positions, plus 2 manual

You can easily use auto white balance, or set it to five pre-calculated positions, and you can set two to match your own conditions or desires.

First let’s look at what “white balance” means. All light – the blue sky light, reflected overcast light, sunlight, fluorescent light, mercury vapor light, tungsten light, incandescent bulb, light candle light – all have their own wavelength or Kelvin reading, ranging from 10,000K to 1,000K, respectively. The higher Kelvin reading is very blue and the lower very red and warm.

Human vision makes the adjustment to keep the color temperature of light balanced. To get the same balancing effect in our cameras we need to white balance, so that in blue sky light our images do not come out excessively blue or otherwise excessively yellow under candle light.

The most exact way to white balance is setting it manually in your camera by aiming and framing the lens on a white sheet of paper illuminated by the light source under which you will be photographing. This is a process you might like to avoid, therefore this camera has five presets you can

pick from, and likely include blue sky, cloudy sky, sunny, fluorescent, and incandescent options. Therefore, if you find yourself shooting under one of these conditions, one of these presets may work for you.

There are times you will face mixed lighting. It could be incandescent light mixed in with fluorescent or daylight. What do you do then? Well, there is the option to go auto and let your camera figure things out. I’m always a straight shot with you and I can tell you I use the auto white balance most of the time and my camera usually does a great job in setting it right.

Even if you use auto focus, auto metering, auto white balance, etc., you have to live a little. When you have some time, try the manual settings and see what interesting affects you get. Your style makes your photos more interesting to look at. I assume or otherwise suggest, when you read these photography articles, that you have your cameras handy to check out what I write about.

Do it, and have a good time, while I take some time to go ashore.

James Schot has been a professional photographer for 30 years and owns James Schot Gallery and Photo Studio. Comments on this column are welcome at james@bestschot.com.

Photo ExPosé

James schot

PHOTOGRAPHY: Photo Exposé

Final installment on making sense of specs in camera manuals

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A1�SUPERYACHT OPERATIONS: Up and Running

The whole success of a charter or a charter season critically depends on the vessel’s crew. If the superyacht crew does not provide excellent service it

will not matter how good the cruising grounds are or how good the weather is.

A charter client should be treated the same as you would treat the owner. The only difference is that crew know the preferences of an

owner, his preferred cruising grounds, his favorite restaurants, the time he likes to get up in the morning, etc.

You will not know these preferences for a new charter client. This provides the crew with a challenge to ensure that they learn as quickly as possible what the client wishes from the charter.

The happiness of the charterer is directly proportional to the quality and effort expended by the interior staff, particularly the chef and chief stew.

Most captains have highly developed political capabilities. They will be personable and skilled. It is common for them to bring key members of their crew from previous vessels.

The captain’s role is challenging, owing to the following:l He is legally bound to ensure the

safety of the guests and crew.l He has a priority to ensure that

the owner’s property is safeguarded. This includes the charter value of the vessel so it is prudent that he keeps the charter clients happy whilst on board.l He needs to ensure that the clients’

demands do not compromise the crew.l He is required to comply with the

laws of the territorial waters through which the vessel passes, with particular importance placed on drug restrictions.

An owner considering chartering his superyacht for its first season should discuss this with the vessel’s captain in the early stages. Some captains would not choose the conflicting priorities that such a role demands and would prefer devoting 100 percent of his time to satisfying the owner.

If the broker has previously handled a particular client on another vessel, he/she is duty bound to discuss the characteristics of a client new to a captain, owner or chef. As captain or senior crew member you should request information from the broker for any new clients, particularly if you believe the broker may have useful information on these clients.

It is equally important to offer feedback at the end of the charter to the broker to enable him to build up a comprehensive picture of the clients for future engagements. The captain should expect a broker to know their

clients well enough to steer them away from an incompatible crew in the same way they should steer them away from an unsuitable vessel or cruising ground.

The captain is responsible for safety, particularly when related to control of the vessel, the use of toys and diving equipment. On the other hand the charterer has “bought” the use of the vessel and the crew for the duration of the charter. As this is the case he has a significant degree of freedom to decide on the nature of the charter. It is important that the crew fully understand this.

However, one of the important areas where the captain must impose his authority is in the event of discovering the use of recreational drugs. In all superyacht cruising areas, this is illegal. The captain is potentially liable for any breach of the laws.

Additionally, in many jurisdictions, the discovery of recreational drugs onboard can result in the confiscation of the vessel by the local authorities. It is essential that the captain ensures that all charter guests (and crew) obey these laws. Should there be an issue with this, the captain may need to refer to the owner/broker to agree on termination of a specific charter.

Charter agreements provide the captain with full authority to prohibit the use of recreational drugs by the charter guests.

Chris Fairgrieve is a consultant with Maritime Services International in Gosport, England, where he carries out surveys. He was in the Royal Navy for 13 years as an electrical engineer and ran his own business in the 1980s developing a power monitoring system for yachts. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

UP and RUnning

chris Fairgrieve

MPI Group of Surrey, England, offers a distance-learning course designed to bridge the gap between master certification and the reality of running a large yacht. The course is sponsored by the Professional Yachtsmen’s Association and Middlesex University. Course material was created by Ian Biles, with contributions from other industry professionals, including Chris Fairgrieve. For more information, call +��(0)1���-7��-��0 or e-mail et@mpigroup.co.uk. To read previous columns, visit www.the-triton.com and click on “news search.”

Crew makes, breaks the charter, but client still gets what he wants

A1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in the photograph above.

One captain told a story about something that happened onboard recently. The yacht was crewed up in San Diego and this captain had taken on a new mate.

“We got to Mexico and the mate ended up in jail on drugs,” this U.S. captain said of the American crew member. “I called the state department. They told me that for drug possession, he broke his contract with the boat. You can wash your hands of him.”

But this captain didn’t do that. While that may be the law, that’s not how things usually shake out.

“The marina guys knew the guys at the jail,” this captain said. “They let him go and gave him back to me.”

“They didn’t want him in their country either,” another captain said.

This mate, who paid his own fines, was let go from the boat soon after.That raised another question: Is getting in trouble ashore always grounds for dismissal from a vessel?

“You have to look at the whole situation,” one captain said. “If the crew member has been with me a while and he’s out with his girlfriend and something happens, you deal with that. If he’s a louse who has only worked for me for two months, he’s gone. My

contract says no drugs.”“By international law, the captain is

responsible for the actions of the crew when they go ashore,” another captain said. “They get mad when you try to clamp down on them, though all you’re really trying to do is protect them.”

A broad discussion then followed on the role captains play in the behavior of the crew. The word parent was mentioned a few times. But that, too, rang true.

“You have to tell crew what’s bad behavior,” one captain said, adding that only with written rules and regulations – a crew manual, in effect – does a captain begin to effectively manage a crew.

“They want the rules, that agreement,” another captain said. “They want it as much as we do. By having your rules set up, it gives you the background if they want to argue with you over how you handle something.”

“I make them pick up extra watch days for bad conduct,” one captain said. “You don’t want to take anything away from them, but you can certainly give them more work to do. We’re not parents, really.”

One captain who never had a crew contract got tired of answering questions about time off, holidays, uniforms and everything else.

“So I finally locked myself in my cabin for a weekend and spelled it all

Attendees of The Triton’s June Bridge luncheon were, from left, Stefan Czuplak of M/Y Antonia II, Pip Bauerlein of M/Y Francine, Randy Steegstra of M/Y Tsalta, Glenn Pitassi of M/Y Waterford, Herb Magney, Wendy Umla of M/Y Castaway, and Jacques Falardeau of M/Y Magic Days. PHOTO/LUCY REED

BRIDGE, from page A1

See BRIDGE, page A17

Is getting in trouble ashorealways grounds for dismissal?

FROM THE BRIDGE: When crew get in trouble ashore

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A17

out, job descriptions, a contract, the rules and regs on the boat,” this captain said. “Now there are no questions. It’s evolving, but at least it is something in writing.”

A crew manual can also help avoid these sorts of “trouble ashore” problems altogether.

One captain told the story of a crew member on another boat who was involved in a fight in a bar in St. Maarten. The crew member left the bar and went back to the boat, but shortly after, police officers came to the boat and took him to the station.

The moral of that story?“Don’t let anyone see you get back

on the boat,” one captain said, only half joking.

“Never be in uniform off the boat,” another said, noting that this rule is in the vessel’s crew agreement.

“I don’t give shirts away anymore,” said a third. “You don’t know where they’re going to end up.”

Another way to preempt the aftermath of a situation is to have emergency contact information at the ready. One captain provides crew ID cards for each new port that includes a photocopy of the crew member’s passport photo, the name of the vessel and the ship’s stamp, the ship’s phone number, and a local contact, usually the agent’s phone number.

How does a captain handle the detail of a crew member who gets arrested and detained? How do you even know it’s happened?

“Somebody is showing up to the boat,” one captain said. “The crew member has told them they are with the boat, and come sunrise, somebody is walking up to the boat.”

“What happens if you are leaving in eight hours and no crew member shows up?” another captain asked the group.

“You may not be leaving until you sort it out,” a captain said.

“You have to deal with whatever you have to, but you have to keep it as low key as possible,” another captain suggested. “Low key from the owner, other boats, everybody. It’s your reputation.”

Does the owner even have to know? What if it’s something relatively harmless, no one was hurt and the crew member was released?

“Oh yes, you have to let the owner

know,” one captain said. Everyone agreed.

“Management has to know, too,” another said.

“You’ve got to tell the boss,” said a third. “They’re going to find out sooner or later. Their boat is our responsibility and everything that happens with it is our responsibility.”

One captain notifies the owner verbally, and then backs it up with an e-mail to create a record.

“Risk mitigation,” this captain said.“You have to wait until it’s under

control before you tell the boss, because he’ll ask you, what should we do?” a captain said.

“The majority of owners will say, ‘it’s your problem, you handle it and just let me know what’s going on,’” another said.

“Damage control; it’s what we do,” said a third.

So what do you do with the crew member once the details of the incident have been taken care of?

“You can fire over it, especially if you have a contract or a crew agreement,” a captain said.

“If someone gets in trouble, write it up in the log book to document the incident,” another captain said. “Read it to him with a witness, and have

him sign it.”“It’s all common sense,” said a

third. “When the law or the police get involved, you have to follow the rules.”

“If we’re on a 24-hour turn-around and one crew member gets in trouble and has not reported for duty when we need to leave, I put them in the charge of the agent,” a captain said.

“The agent posts a bond and releases the boat.”

“We had someone who took ill,” another captain said. “The agent took care of it.”

For at least one captain, though, that didn’t feel right.

“If a crew member doesn’t show up, I can’t leave,” this captain said. “I have to know what happened to him. You’d feel pretty bad if you left and something bad had happened.”

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com. If you make your living working as a yacht captain, e-mail lucy@the-triton.com for an invitation to our monthly Bridge luncheon.

BRIDGE, from page A16

‘When the ... police get involved, you have to follow the rules’

One captain provides crew ID cards for each new port that includes a photocopy of the crew member’s passport photo, the name of the vessel and the ship’s stamp, the ship’s phone number, and a local contact, usually the agent’s phone number.

FROM THE BRIDGE: When crew get in trouble ashore

A1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton PHOTO GALLERY

New First Mate Peter Jupp was between a dock and a hard place as he touched up the finish on the 132-foot Westship M/Y Northern Lights. Look for her – and him – in New England this season.

PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Deckhand Cynda Paris was shining the metal finishes onboard M/Y Esterel in the Florida sun. The yacht will get some work done this summer, including a new bow thruster and bottom paint before she heads back out to the charter circuit. PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Delivered from San Diego courtesy of Dockwise two months ago, the 96-foot S/Y Altair was in Ft. Lauderdale being prepped for her season in New England. Working together like a well-oiled machine is, from left, new Mate/Engineer Andy Sekulovich, not-so-new Capt. Todd Wallack and Chef/Stew Susan Balok. PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Eng. Trevor Lightbourne keeps an eye out topside as Capt. Gary Corbin steadies the dinghy on M/Y Lady Andrea. They repositioned the tender for a new wave runner onboard the 103-foot Broward. Look for them chartering in the Bahamas all summer, starting in the Jumento Cays. PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Two guys, one wakeboard and an invincible yacht name. Chief Officer Barry McIntosh, left, and Deckhand Steve Moore of the 165-foot Heesen M/Y Man of Steel must be wondering when the yacht will pull them. After all, McIntosh wakeboarded behind a Feadship once. Keep an eye out for them in Florida and the Bahamas this summer.

PHOTO/TOM SERIO

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A1�PHOTO GALLERY

Mate Nicholas Ocobock and Stew Kelly Maxey keep the 112-foot Westport M/Y Lucky Seven spotless between charters, “making white whiter,” Ocobock said. Just back from a winter in the Caribbean, the yacht will be around Florida and the Bahamas this summer. PHOTO/TOM SERIO

Dayworker Todd Ewing cleans the sound barrier for the portside generator of the 50m M/Y Shandor. Shandor and her full-time crew left for the Med in mid May after more than four months in Ft. Lauderdale. PHOTO/LUCY REED

The crew of the 50m Feadship M/Y Iroquois were too busy getting the vessel in tip-top shape to pause for a photo, so we followed them around, (clockwise from left) snapping Stew Tanya Hall as she takes out trash (with a smile), Deckhand Ilay Saparev as he sprays the stern, Second Mate Hakim Boutrif as he cleans mats on Bahia Mar’s dock in Ft. Lauderdale, and Deckhand Chris Bauer as he sprays the topsides. Watch for this neat and tidy ship in the Bahamas this month.

PHOTOS/DORIE COX

A�0 June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

“Historically, I do freelance work and that can mean a lot of paperwork for a little credit,” he said. “Say I deliver yachts between the boat shows. That can be six days of time with three different entities. Maybe it’s a new boat with no procedure to sign off on sea time. Or maybe a manufacturer puts you on a boat that doesn’t even have the paperwork ready.

“But I think refit time is the biggest issue,” he said. The USCG does not count that as sea time.

Solving the sea time issue is the starting point for license renewal. Questions as to tonnage and description of license must be addressed by the Coast Guard, although many answers can be found on the USCG Web site: www.uscg.mil/nmc/renewing.asp.

Service requirements for all levels of license are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Pertinent sections are in CFR 46 parts 10 and 12 found on the government Web site at www.gpoaccess.gov/CFR.

MCA

Similarly, revalidating an MCA license requires a year of sea time every five years. Renewal candidates who do not meet this requirement have four options.

Mariners may serve as an extra

crew – what the MCA calls in “a supernumerary capacity” – for three months to compensate for sea service.

Another option, according to the Merchant Shipping Notices for the MCA, is to complete an approved shore-based refresher course.

But this isn’t as easy as it sounds.“As currently there are no refresher

training courses provided for yachts, we would suggest that crew contact Seafarer Training and Certification for advice as to the correct courses to use as a substitute for the Refresher Training,” said Paul Fairbrother, UKSR Manager at MCA.

Another option is to work in a lower rank for three months. To do this, contact must be made with a MCA marine office (visit www.mcga.gov.uk for “contact us”) to apply for a revalidation oral examination. Then the mariner will be issued a Certificate of Dispensation that will confirm eligibility for this service.

MCA also offers the option to perform duties “in an acceptable occupation, appropriate to the class of certificate,” which must be approved ahead of time. Similar to the USCG situation, there is no list of what is considered acceptable.

“If in doubt, contact MCA,” said Michael French, chief operations officer at International Yacht Training in Ft.

Capt. Chris Harris said his “experience here [in a shipyard job] has been tenfold,” citing time “on a variety of vessels rather than the same boat.” Still, he can only document limited sea time. PHOTO FROM CHRIS HARRIS

See LICENSES, page A21

LICENSES, from page A1

USCG Web site full of information

Myth: I have a year grace period to renew my USCG license.

Fact: After a license has expired, it is invalid for working. A mariner must complete the renewal process before the license expires. The grace period is only a paperwork grace period.

Myth: I work on a private yacht so I don’t need the STCW.

Fact: Not necessarily true. The Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention 95 does not apply to mariners on vessels of less than 200grt, uninspected passenger vessels, fishing vessels, vessels operating exclusively on the Great Lakes, and inspected small passenger vessels. For more visit www.stcw.org

Mariners who use a USCG 200-ton license on a foreign voyage must have an STCW certificate.

Myth: The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is only for people who work in ports.

Fact: It is for anyone who holds a USCG-issue mariner’s license. Effective in April, no USCG licensed mariners credential is valid without a valid TWIC.

Facts about timel The USCG defines a day as eight

hours of watch-standing or day-working, not to include overtime. Vessels with 12-hour working days may count as one and one-half days of service. l On vessels of less than 100 gross

register tons, a day is considered eight hours unless the Coast Guard determines that the vessel’s operating schedule makes this criteria inappropriate. In no case will this period be less than four hours. l The MCA divides sea time into (and

sea service can include any combination of ) the following:

1. onboard yacht service is time spent signed on a yacht, irrespective of the vessel activity

2. actual sea service is time spent at sea, which may include time at anchor or river and canal transits associated with a passage

3. stand-by service is time moored while fully crewed, fuelled and ready to proceed to sea, e.g. awaiting the owner to arrive or a charter to commence

4. yard service is time when standing by a build, refit or repair

Differences in the definitions of sea service are clarified on government Web sites: www.uscg.mil and www.mcga.gov.uk. – Dorie Cox

Not everything that you thought you knew about licenses is true

Lauderdale. “Talk to them, tell them your position and they will assess on a case-by-case basis.”

Visit www.mcga.gov.uk, click through “Working at Sea”, then “Training and Certification” for details and contact information.

Maritime governing bodies are deep with regulations. For a taste of the complexity of the renewal process, try a few phone calls or spend time on official Web sites. They are the last word on who gets renewed.

All about rules and regulations

For captains and crew, the license renewal process is a culmination of years, and often lifetimes, of work with the sea. Hours on boats, course books and study guides, tests, training, seminars and more tests, all boil down to following the official rules and regulations to keep their tickets.

For captains like Harris, the big issue is making sure his time spent in the industry counts.

“It was years at great expense and brain drain to get my 1,600-ton license early in my career, and it would be heartbreaking if there is an issue.”

Dorie Cox is a staff reporter with The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

LICENSES, from page A20

License renewal a complex issue

USCG consolidates credentials

The U.S. Coast Guard issued the first consolidated Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) in May in Dania Beach, Fla.

The MMC consolidates the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single credential, and streamlines the application process for the MMC by removing the requirement that all mariners appear at one of 17 Regional Exam Centers, so long as they have already enrolled for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

Under previous regulations, the Coast Guard issued up to four credentials per mariner including a Merchant Mariner’s Document, Merchant Mariner’s License, Certificate of Registry and an International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Endorsement (STCW).

Each credential served a separate purpose, thus creating the possibility that a mariner might need all four. The new consolidated MMC replaces the four documents with one.

For more information visit www.uscg.mil/nmc or http://homeport.uscg.mil and select Merchant Mariners.

FROM THE FRONT: License renewal

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A�1

“Historically, I do freelance work and that can mean a lot of paperwork for a little credit,” he said. “Say I deliver yachts between the boat shows. That can be six days of time with three different entities. Maybe it’s a new boat with no procedure to sign off on sea time. Or maybe a manufacturer puts you on a boat that doesn’t even have the paperwork ready.

“But I think refit time is the biggest issue,” he said. The USCG does not count that as sea time.

Solving the sea time issue is the starting point for license renewal. Questions as to tonnage and description of license must be addressed by the Coast Guard, although many answers can be found on the USCG Web site: www.uscg.mil/nmc/renewing.asp.

Service requirements for all levels of license are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Pertinent sections are in CFR 46 parts 10 and 12 found on the government Web site at www.gpoaccess.gov/CFR.

MCA

Similarly, revalidating an MCA license requires a year of sea time every five years. Renewal candidates who do not meet this requirement have four options.

Mariners may serve as an extra

crew – what the MCA calls in “a supernumerary capacity” – for three months to compensate for sea service.

Another option, according to the Merchant Shipping Notices for the MCA, is to complete an approved shore-based refresher course.

But this isn’t as easy as it sounds.“As currently there are no refresher

training courses provided for yachts, we would suggest that crew contact Seafarer Training and Certification for advice as to the correct courses to use as a substitute for the Refresher Training,” said Paul Fairbrother, UKSR Manager at MCA.

Another option is to work in a lower rank for three months. To do this, contact must be made with a MCA marine office (visit www.mcga.gov.uk for “contact us”) to apply for a revalidation oral examination. Then the mariner will be issued a Certificate of Dispensation that will confirm eligibility for this service.

MCA also offers the option to perform duties “in an acceptable occupation, appropriate to the class of certificate,” which must be approved ahead of time. Similar to the USCG situation, there is no list of what is considered acceptable.

“If in doubt, contact MCA,” said Michael French, chief operations officer at International Yacht Training in Ft.

Capt. Chris Harris said his “experience here [in a shipyard job] has been tenfold,” citing time “on a variety of vessels rather than the same boat.” Still, he can only document limited sea time. PHOTO FROM CHRIS HARRIS

See LICENSES, page A21

LICENSES, from page A1

USCG Web site full of information

Myth: I have a year grace period to renew my USCG license.

Fact: After a license has expired, it is invalid for working. A mariner must complete the renewal process before the license expires. The grace period is only a paperwork grace period.

Myth: I work on a private yacht so I don’t need the STCW.

Fact: Not necessarily true. The Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention 95 does not apply to mariners on vessels of less than 200grt, uninspected passenger vessels, fishing vessels, vessels operating exclusively on the Great Lakes, and inspected small passenger vessels. For more visit www.stcw.org

Mariners who use a USCG 200-ton license on a foreign voyage must have an STCW certificate.

Myth: The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is only for people who work in ports.

Fact: It is for anyone who holds a USCG-issue mariner’s license. Effective in April, no USCG licensed mariners credential is valid without a valid TWIC.

Facts about timel The USCG defines a day as eight

hours of watch-standing or day-working, not to include overtime. Vessels with 12-hour working days may count as one and one-half days of service. l On vessels of less than 100 gross

register tons, a day is considered eight hours unless the Coast Guard determines that the vessel’s operating schedule makes this criteria inappropriate. In no case will this period be less than four hours. l The MCA divides sea time into (and

sea service can include any combination of ) the following:

1. onboard yacht service is time spent signed on a yacht, irrespective of the vessel activity

2. actual sea service is time spent at sea, which may include time at anchor or river and canal transits associated with a passage

3. stand-by service is time moored while fully crewed, fuelled and ready to proceed to sea, e.g. awaiting the owner to arrive or a charter to commence

4. yard service is time when standing by a build, refit or repair

Differences in the definitions of sea service are clarified on government Web sites: www.uscg.mil and www.mcga.gov.uk. – Dorie Cox

Not everything that you thought you knew about licenses is true

Lauderdale. “Talk to them, tell them your position and they will assess on a case-by-case basis.”

Visit www.mcga.gov.uk, click through “Working at Sea”, then “Training and Certification” for details and contact information.

Maritime governing bodies are deep with regulations. For a taste of the complexity of the renewal process, try a few phone calls or spend time on official Web sites. They are the last word on who gets renewed.

All about rules and regulations

For captains and crew, the license renewal process is a culmination of years, and often lifetimes, of work with the sea. Hours on boats, course books and study guides, tests, training, seminars and more tests, all boil down to following the official rules and regulations to keep their tickets.

For captains like Harris, the big issue is making sure his time spent in the industry counts.

“It was years at great expense and brain drain to get my 1,600-ton license early in my career, and it would be heartbreaking if there is an issue.”

Dorie Cox is a staff reporter with The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

LICENSES, from page A20

License renewal a complex issue

USCG consolidates credentials

The U.S. Coast Guard issued the first consolidated Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) in May in Dania Beach, Fla.

The MMC consolidates the credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single credential, and streamlines the application process for the MMC by removing the requirement that all mariners appear at one of 17 Regional Exam Centers, so long as they have already enrolled for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential.

Under previous regulations, the Coast Guard issued up to four credentials per mariner including a Merchant Mariner’s Document, Merchant Mariner’s License, Certificate of Registry and an International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Endorsement (STCW).

Each credential served a separate purpose, thus creating the possibility that a mariner might need all four. The new consolidated MMC replaces the four documents with one.

For more information visit www.uscg.mil/nmc or http://homeport.uscg.mil and select Merchant Mariners.

FROM THE FRONT: License renewal

A�� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton WRITE TO BE HEARD

This letter came to The Triton after our survey on crew and crime appeared in the March issue.

By John Smith

In 1676, British soldiers sent to Virginia to put down the rebellion of Bacon in the city of Jamestown boiled together some local plants and made a salad of sorts.

Soon after ingesting their meal, according to reports, the soldiers “presented a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools, … one would blow at a feather while another would dart straws at it with much fury: another, stark naked, was sitting in a corner like a monkey, while another would fondly kiss and paw his companions.

“In this condition they were confined lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves, though it was observed that all of their actions were full of innocence and good nature. A thousand simple tricks they played, and after 11 days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had happened.”

In Bogota, Colombia, about 500 people a month fall victim to the 21st century equivalent of Jamestown or “jimson” weed. According to a U.S. State Department warning, the drug called burundanga in Venezuela and

borrachio in Colombia has become a street weapon within segments of both Latin and North America.

The active agent – scopolamine – can be a useful drug when taken as directed by a physician. As well as being effective in alleviating seasickness, it is a powerful anti-spasmodic and is used in a variety of gastro-intestinal disorders.

It also, however, has gained a reputation as a truth serum and can render a person disoriented and talkative while inducing a state in which the victim does not perceive that the “dream” he/she is having is in fact reality. Persons under the influence of these “nightshade” drugs can be asked to release passwords, empty bank accounts and engage in sexual acts without their consent or even their full knowledge. The victim cannot say no.

Dr. Camlo Uribe, head of Bogotá’s foremost toxicology clinic, says, “It is like chemical hypnosis, and from the moment it is given the victim remembers absolutely nothing of what happened.”

All parts of jimson weed are poisonous due to the presence of tropane alkaloids. These include atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscine. The roots also contain cuscohygrine and 3, 6 ditigylteloidine.

I know three people who have fallen victim to this new street/club crime,

two in Venezuela and one in Ecuador. The U.S. embassy warns that drinks should never be left unattended. This substance can be given by liquid, cigarette or inhalant. It is tasteless and odorless.

With an experienced handler, the individual under this drug will tell the truth to any question asked. The victim may have no memory of the events but they may resurface years later in unexplained disorientation. The CIA/FBI/NSA and most police agencies know about this drug. It is often used by security forces to make people forget.

So, with the way things are with burundanga just now, forget about roadside romance. Flirting with a stranger could lead to a real lost weekend. Needless to say, there are probably countless people trying to figure out what happened to them on that long night out that they cannot remember when they were not careful with their drinks and woke up penniless … and lost!

John Smith has been living aboard and cruising in the Caribbean since 1968. He studied pharmacy in Boston and served as a hospitalman in the U.S. Navy. He has spent the past 32 years cruising aboard the engineless sloop, Mermaid of Carriacou. Check out his latest book, ‘Little Fish, Big Pond’ at Amazon.com.

Callwood worthy of honor

I first met Foxy Callwood in the summer of 1990 when I was working on a local boat, the Plan B. Foxy and my boss were friends and they included me in their conversations.

Prior to that I had only known of Foxy via the many T-shirts I had seen bearing his name. This led me to assume that Foxy was just a local character with a popular saloon.

As it turned out he had just returned from a trip to Europe and was getting ready to go to San Francisco. We had great conversations and solved the world’s problems.

Foxy and his beautiful lady are indeed worldly and wise people. So it comes as no surprise to read that he continues to be a positive influence in the lives of so many. [“Foxy Callwood

worthy of his English honor,” page A23, April 2009] I commend the Crown for recognizing what many of us have long known.

Capt. Ned StoneFt. Lauderdale

Snake awareness online

I read your article about snakebites [“Fatal snakebites rare but still require emergency first-aid” at www.the-triton.com] with interest from Australia and thought I would send you some information that may be of interest to your readers.

I do the bookkeeping for a gentleman in South Australia by the name of Geoff Coombe. Geoff has been presenting Snake Awareness and Working with Venomous Snakes courses throughout Australia and the world for many years. His whole focus is on making people aware of

why snakes react the way they do and what we can do to reduce the chance of being bitten by them.

As well as the various “in person” presentations, he also has an online Snake Awareness course he has recently set up to give people a better understanding of these creatures.

His Web site is at www.livingwithwildlife.com.au, and he also has a couple of blogs.

The advice given by Keith Murray in your article was fantastic, but we hope that if people become more aware of these creatures and why they react in the way that they do, there will be less need for first aid treatment because fewer people will get bitten.

Geoff truly believes that we can live in harmony with these creatures if we understand what they do and why they do it.

Dean AllanGawler, South Australia

LETTERS, from page A23

An open warning to all yachtsmen

‘I commend the crown for recognizing’ Callwood

Persons under the influence of these ‘nightshade’ drugs can be asked to release passwords, empty bank accounts and engage in

sexual acts without their consent or even their full knowledge. The U.S. embassy warns that drinks should never be left

unattended. This substance can be given by liquid, cigarette or inhalant. It is tasteless and odorless.

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 A��

PublisherDavid Reed, david@the-triton.com

Advertising SalesPeg Soffen, peg@the-triton.com Mike Price, mike@the-triton.com

EditorLucy Chabot Reed, lucy@the-triton.com

News staffDorie Cox

Lawrence Hollyfield

Production ManagerPatty Weinert, patty@the-triton.com

The Captain’s MateMike Price, mike@the-triton.com

Contributors

Carol M. Bareuther, Capt. John Campbell, Capt. Gregory Clark, Mark A. Cline,

Jake DesVergers, Chris Fairgrieve, Jack Horkheimer, Chef Mary Beth Lawton Johnson,

Alene Keenan,Jim Kelleher, Keith Murray, Capt. Tony Perry,

Steve Pica, Alison Rese, Rossmare Intl., James Schot,

Capt. Tom Serio

Vol. �, No. �. The Triton is a free, monthly newspaper owned by Triton Publishing Group Inc. Copyright 2009 Triton Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact us at:Mailing address: 757 S.E. 17th St., #1119

Visit us at: 111B S. W. 23rd St.Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

(954) 525-0029; FAX (954) 525-9676www.the-triton.com

WRITE TO BE HEARD

Your story about David Barbee [“Awaiting transplant, man survives with work, family, friends,” page A14, May issue] highlighted the tragic shortage of human organs for transplant operations.

More than half of the 100,000 Americans on the national transplant waiting list will die before they get a transplant. Most of these deaths are needless. Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs every year.

There is a simple way to put a big dent in the organ shortage – give donated organs first to people who have agreed to donate their own organs when they die.

Giving organs first to organ donors will convince more people to register as organ donors. It will also make the organ allocation system fairer. People who aren’t willing to share the gift of life should go to the back of the waiting list as long as there is a shortage of organs.

Anyone who wants to donate their organs to others who have agreed to donate theirs can join LifeSharers. LifeSharers is a non-profit network of organ donors who agree to offer their organs first to other organ donors when they die.

Membership is free at www.lifesharers.org or by calling 1-888-ORGAN88.

There is no age limit, parents can enroll their minor children, and no one is excluded due to any pre-existing medical condition. LifeSharers has more than 12,000 members at this writing.

Dave Undis, executive directorLifeSharers

www.lifesharers.org

Out of the mainstream

I just wanted to comment on a nicely written piece regarding David Barbee.

It was uniquely written, and it was nice to see positive stories with all the negative stories in the mainstream media. I hope that a donor is located.

Greg GajcakNautical Outfitters Midwest

Barbee’s painexacerbated by wasted organs

This is probably the best article I have ever read about being a crew member. [“16 things great crew know,” C1, May 2009] Thank you so much for printing it.

I remember hearing Capt. Lawson reading these off at the Expo and it just makes sense. I hope to read this to our new students.

Stephanie AllenOperations manager

American Yacht InstituteFt. Lauderdale

Capt. Taylor Lawson reminds me of the very best of the best captains I have ever worked for: clear, concise, unemotional and measurable expectations; human mistakes that are understood as long as one exercises responsibility and corrects or does not repeat them; and a working environment in which crew are advised what is expected, a captain expecting it to happen, and knowing as crew that there will be quantifiable consequences in not meeting those objectives.

In other words, the kind of captain I would do everything and anything for, as long as it was both safe and legal, which, in Capt. Lawson’s case and others like him, I would expect nothing else.

Eng. Sandra FiegerCaribbean

I don’t think I have ever read a better short statement on the relationship between captains, crew, owners and the vessel. I’m thinking of making it an addendum to Moore & Co. crew contracts. Well done.

Michael MooreAttorney

Miami

Azteca: No business in San PedroAt the very least, Capt. Salvador

Villerias-Eckart of M/Y Azteca was grossly ill prepared and terribly misinformed to think he was going to go through the San Pedro Cut (“pass,” as he referred to it) with a 165-foot yacht, not to mention 5- to 7-foot seas,

25-knot winds, with a tender in tow at 0530hrs. [“Captain: Anchor incident exaggerated,” page A1, May 2009]

A yacht that size and draft has no business being anywhere near the San Pedro Cut.

Remember, all that transpired after his inability to maneuver his vessel properly is reaction from a community of local dive operators who make their living on that now-torn-up reef.

Please tell Capt. Villerias-Eckart that 225 feet of large yacht chain will certainly tear up shallow reefs. To date the best navigational knowledge for Belize waters is Capt. Freya Rausher’s “Belize Cruising Guide.”

Sure an emergency is an emergency, but if he had better planned his ETA later in the morning, he could have gotten local knowledge by radio during daylight. If he had got through the Cut, there is no place for him to go except aground. He could have retained a local guy who would have made his Belize experience more enjoyable.

Captain Chris BergM/Y Intrepid

EDITOR’S NOTE: Capt. Berg spent more than a decade in Belize, running a diving facility and various live-aboard vessels beginning in the late 1980s.

Fantastic article on being a crew member

You have a ‘write’ to be heard. Send us your thoughts on anything that bothers you. Write to us at

editorial@the-triton.com See LETTERS, page A22

www.the-triton.com June 2009Section B

While the iron is hot

B3Crew ready for training.

Gunshot victims

B2First aid is vital to survival.

Same as it ever was

B14French islands don’t change.

Ya call this working?

B4Elliott Bay’s dockmaster.

Traditionally, the maritime industry has taken a reactive stance to implementing improved safety measures at sea. Whenever there was an accident, we investigated it and

eventually required a new piece of equipment installed.

Fifteen years ago, in 1994, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) established a precedent by its actions and deviated from this traditional “fix-all” process. It enacted an amendment to the

existing International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) that focused on the human element. The amendment – Resolution A.741 (18) – became Chapter IX of SOLAS, but more commonly known as the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. The resolution at that time enacted a set of generalized requirements focused around 13 elements:l Safety Management Systeml Safety/Environmental Protection Policyl Company Responsibilities and Authorityl Designated Person(s)l Master’s Responsibility and Authorityl Resources and Personnell Development of Plans for Shipboard

Operationsl Emergency Preparednessl Reports and Analysis of Nonconformities,

Accidents and Hazardous Occurrencesl Maintenance of the Ship and Equipmentl Documentationl Company Verification, Review and

Controll Certification, Verification and ControlThe IMO recognized the shoreside

management role was crucial in the safe operation of ships and large yachts. For this effort, the ISM Code created a position with distinct responsibilities. This position, the Designated Person (DP), is outlined in element four.

Rules of the Road

Jake DesVergers

See RULES, page 8

Designated person ashore and ISM Code

By Capt. Tony Perry

The Savannah River is deep and easily navigated. Call for a pilot, which is required for foreign-flagged vessels more than 200 gross tons. Put out large fenders. They require at least two hours notice.

As you enter from the Atlantic, look for Cockspur Island, home of historic Fort Pulaski National Monument, the pilot station and the U.S. Coast Guard base on the port side. Watch your wake in this area.

There is a lot of commercial traffic on the river and most of it tug-assisted or at least escorted. The compressed natural gas ships are escorted by armed Coast Guard personnel.

Dockage is available on both sides of the river downtown, but the most convenient is the Hyatt Regency at the furthest end up river. You are in the center of the nightlife here and a short walk to anywhere, with great restaurants, theaters and events. The dock master is Jennifer Crovatt (+1

912-238-1234, jennifercrovatt@hyatt.com). There is 414 feet of dockage and shore power of single phase, 100amp and 50amp. Generators may be run.

Other options for city dockage are the John P. Rousakis Riverfront Plaza (www.savannahga.gov, +1 912-651-6452). Docking space is available in three areas: Dock 1 on the western end of the plaza, upriver from the Hyatt for 35- to 250-foot yachts; Dock 2 is the area of the bulkhead beginning just east of the tour boat dock behind City Hall and extending eastward to Abercorn Ramp; and Dock 3, which has vertical, stationary pilings and cleats and can accommodate any vessel up to about 250 feet. Limited electricity, water and refuse services are available.

Another facility is River Street Market Place Dock for yachts up to 250 feet (www.riverstreetmarketplace.com, +1 912-398-6038). The dockmaster is Charles “Chaz” Files.

The piers are located on a commercial shipping channel. The tide variation is 6 to 8 feet and the area has a mean low draft varying from 8 to 14 feet, with an irregular silt and mud bottom.

Across the river is the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. It has long docks with 100amp power, swimming pool, golf, tennis and a good restaurant. It also runs a ferry across the river every 20 to 30 minutes until midnight. Reach the concierge at +1 912-201-2062.

Further up the river on the port side is the former Global Ship Systems yard, now operating as Savannah MegaYacht. It has a dry dock facility with a sliding roof that can enclose large yachts. M/Y Blue Moon was there this spring for a paint job. It also has a large marine railway.

About-face

That’s about as far as private

See SAVANNAH, page B10

Navigating the Savannah RiverDowntown Savannah has dockage for megayachts upriver from the Hyatt, the pink building. FILE PHOTO

B� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton ONBOARD EMERGENCIES: Gunshot Wounds

When most people think of yachting, they think of pretty boats in warm climates with palm trees and pretty ladies sunning themselves on

deck. Lately, though,

the yachting we see on television more often involves pirates with guns.

Due to all of the media coverage about pirates, the number of gunshot

questions I receive in my classes has increased dramatically. So I consulted with a friend and former co-worker who has treated numerous gunshot wounds, Rick Sosa, a lieutenant paramedic with the Stuart Fire Rescue. Sosa has first-hand experience treating bullet wounds of various calibers from pistols, rifles and shotguns.

“Treating gunshot victims is not like it is in the movies or on TV,” Sosa said. “Gunshot wounds, even larger caliber, can sometimes be deceiving. They may look like a small puncture wound and may not bleed very much.

“The wound may appear little but the damage inside is not. Due to body

mass, the torso is usually a much easier target than the rest of the body. Again, this spells danger. The torso contains all the major vital organs: heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, stomach, spleen, etc.

“Gunshot victims belong in the hospital emergency room as quickly as possible,” he said.

Here are the steps to treat a bullet wound.

The first step, as in any first-aid rescue situation, is to make sure the scene is safe for you. After you are certain you can safely help, protect yourself from bloodborne pathogens. This means putting on medical exam gloves and eye protection. Consider every drop of another person’s blood infectious and avoid direct contract with it.

The second step is to get help. This means calling for medical help and getting the victim to a hospital as quickly as possible. Our victim’s chance of survival is greatest with prompt, professional medical treatment at a hospital.

Moving the victim is never a good idea when you are on land and help is on the way, unless the victim is in a dangerous location. At sea, you must be

careful when moving the victim. You do not want to cause further injury.

Our next step is basic first aid. If the victim is unconscious, look, listen and feel for breathing. Place your head

next to the victim’s mouth and look at their chest for a rise and fall. Listen to his breathing, and you should feel his breath against your face. If the victim is not breathing, begin

CPR and apply the AED (automated external defibrillator) immediately.

Next, we must control any bleeding. Be sure to check the victim thoroughly for bleeding as you may have more than one wound to treat. Bullets often create a second hole when they exit the body.

To control bleeding, use your gloved hand and sterile dressing to apply direct pressure to the wound. If the wound is still bleeding, try more pressure and more dressing. If this does not work, try more pressure, more dressing, and if possible, elevate the wound above the heart.

Gunshot wounds to the chest, often called sucking chest wounds, should be sealed to keep air from being sucked into the wound. Cover the wound using a piece of plastic. Tape three sides of

the plastic to the body, leaving the fourth side open. The open side will act as a valve allowing air to escape, which should prevent a collapsed lung.

If the victim is conscious, allow them to sit or lay in a comfortable position. Try to keep him relaxed, which should slow his heart rate and limit blood loss. Keeping the victim warm will also help.

If the victim is unconscious, he should be closely monitored for signs of cardiac or respiratory arrest.

If the victim experiences signs of shock, such as thirst, rapid heart rate, or profuse sweating, have him lay flat and slightly elevate his legs if he can tolerate it. This will move blood to the body’s core.

If oxygen is available, give it to the patient.

Do not give gunshot wound victims anything to eat or drink without approval by a medical professional.

Keith Murray, a former Florida firefighter EMT, is the owner of The CPR School, a mobile training company that provides CPR, AED and first aid training. He also sells and services automated external defibrillators. Contact him at +1-561-762-0500 or keith@theCPRschool.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

sea sick

Keith Murray

Treating gunshots not like it is in the movies or on TV

The wound may appear little but the damage inside is not.

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B�SECURITY: High seas hijackings

We all have read or viewed with great interest the incredible rescue by the U.S. Navy of Capt. Phillips of M/V Alabama from the clutches of Somali

hijackers.The on-going

stories of these high sea hijackings are of interest to us all in a not-so-subtle way in that they demonstrate the lengths and measures human beings will go to

steal from others when it appears all hope is lost. There are many thoughts and theories as to the underlying motives of these hijackers, all the way from gang initiations to terrorism.

It does not really matter, in the end, what the actual motive may be; the result is usually the same to the crew and ships’ owners. Almost every day, merchant seaman are put in harm’s way at the hands of these criminals. And until recently, civilized society and its navies had been unable to stop it. That is, until the U.S. Navy’s Seal Team Six was released.

The fact that these criminals will take extreme measures, risking their own lives in the process only demonstrates what thieves will risk to accomplish their mission.

Their measures may be less extreme with yachts, although not a whole lot less if you happen to be a crew member who becomes the target or victim of a hijacking or physical criminal act.

Desperate criminals who occupy our cruising waters possess many of the same desperate characteristics and perhaps even the same motives as the Somali hijackers. When people become desperate and without hope, they may resort to extreme measures no matter what body of water they may be near.

As the economy continues to suffer, those predisposed to criminal acts could very well take a page from the hijackers playbook. The yachting community would appear as an appealing target to this element.

In an attempt to preemptively lock the barn door, perhaps this would be a good time to revisit some basic steps to prevent unwanted boardings that could lead to more serious acts of theft or physical harm.

We have witnessed the time it took for the authorities to respond and react to the highly publicized hijacking of the M/V Alabama. That begs the question: How long would it take to respond to a hijacking or hostage event on a yacht in our familiar cruising waters given the limited resources in the area?

Instead of waiting for that, let’s look at what we can do now to refresh our own security efforts: l Establish firm standard operating

procedures for yacht watches.l Become well informed and

knowledgeable of your surroundings. Know what is normal and what appear to be out-of-place activities.l Establish communications with

your yachting neighbors. l Broaden your horizon of

surveillance. What happens in your vicinity can have a direct impact on your operation.l Be aware of counter-surveillances.

In most instances the bad guys have been watching your operations long before they attempt their criminal acts. Those on watch should make note of unusual interest or close encounters

that may have criminal motives.l Share information with your

neighbors and authorities.l Update crew security training.Crew members have never been

more aware of the dangers proposed by outside sources than they are right now. Most would agree that security and safety training in the past was generally viewed as a necessary burden or vague requirement being mandated by others.

Today’s level of threat awareness by even the most inexperienced crew member should be used as an opportunity for meaningful security

training. Professional crew today not only expect and want the training but are paying attention like never before.

Jim Kelleher is president of Securaccess, a global security consultancy based in South Florida. He is a retired U.S. Secret Service agent, a licensed U.S. Coast Guard captain, and the former vice president of security for the world’s largest fleet of private Feadships and Gulfstream jets. Contact him through www.securaccessinc.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

all secuRe

Jim kelleher

Now’s the time to refresh security efforts, review SOPs, train

B� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

By Dorie Cox

Ten miles of dock is checked and cleaned each day at Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle, Wash. The crew walks with report sheets in hand, recording the status of 1,200 slips.

“That’s walking, not riding in golf carts,” team leader and harbormaster Doug Hicks said.

“Our people are in really good shape.”

Frequently giving credit to the marina staff, which numbers about 20 in summer, Hicks said he is just the figurehead of Elliott Bay’s well-coordinated group.

Hicks had traveled on land and sea before becoming the marina’s dockmaster. He was born in Seattle and served nine years in the U.S. Army. He sailed with friends in the South

Pacific in the Marquesas and Tuamotu, and spent more than three years in Mexico on his own boat, sailing from San Carlos to Manzanillo and cruising around Baja.

“I was an unstable bum,” he readily admitted.

Eventually he returned to the Pacific northwest where he decided to park his boat at Elliott Bay Marina. He realized no matter where he was in the world, he often found himself back at the marina on the south shore of Magnolia Bluff.

“They had the best staff on Earth and I had never been anyplace more helpful and friendly,” he said.

He went to work on a Superfund coastal cleanup project in Tacoma, Wash., tearing out old docks and rebuilding the waterfront.

“We built the Dock Street Marina and Delin Docks from scratch,” he said.

After that, he took shift jobs at Elliott Bay where he was later hired as harbormaster, a position he’s held for two-and-a-half years.

Hicks is at home at the marina, which is located outside of the locks, about five minutes from downtown Seattle. It is easy to navigate with entrances on the east and west.

With a call ahead, the crew will be waiting to grab lines, Hicks said. Most boats are between 32 and 158 feet but the outside can accommodate larger megayachts.

Waterfront dining is offered at the Palisades Restaurant and Maggie Bluff Marina Grill, and several marine businesses are on the property.

Hicks said he is thrilled to be working at a marina where teamwork and fun are a job requirement.

“For example, we have a downtown sailing series and the only rules are: don’t run over your neighbor, have fun and be back at 8:30, even if you have to use your engine. The party starts promptly.”

As to a typical day in the life of Harbormaster Hicks he said, “We divide the work, today I cleaned the heads. … My philosophy is if we are happy and confident and our restrooms are clean, then we have a perfect marina.”

Hicks is again planning his next phase. Assistant Harbormaster Brian Kaloper has been attending training in marina management and hospitality to prepare to replace Hicks as harbormaster next year.

After Kaloper gets promoted, Hicks plans to continue working with the marina on a less intensive level.

“The trick is to get a smart, youthful successor,” Hicks said. “He’s great; he did everything we asked. Well, for the first year anyway...”

Dorie Cox is a staff reporter with The Triton. Comments on this story are welcome at dorie@the-triton.com.

Harbormaster Doug Hicks is at home at Elliott Bay Marina

Harbormaster Doug Hicks, left, is getting assistant harbormaster Brian Kaloper to take the helm at Elliott Bay Marina next year. PHOTO FROM DOUG HICKS

ON THE DOCKS: Elliott Bay Marina

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B�

Today’s fuel prices One year agoPrices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of May 15.

Region Duty-free*/dutypaidU.S.EastCoast

Ft.Lauderdale 445/476Savannah,Ga. 431/NANewport,R.I. 514/NA

CaribbeanSt.Thomas,USVI 530/NASt.Maarten 570/NAAntigua 598/NAValparaiso 645/NA

NorthAtlanticBermuda(IrelandIsland) 638/NACapeVerde 472/NAAzores 490/NACanaryIslands 462/695

MediterraneanGibraltar 442/NABarcelona,Spain 474/1,190PalmadeMallorca,Spain NA/1,172Antibes,France 521/1,345SanRemo,Italy 636/1,511Naples,Italy 587/1,426Venice,Italy 598/1,367Corfu,Greece 582/1,325Piraeus,Greece 565/1,308Istanbul,Turkey 487/NAMalta 553/1298Bizerte,Tunisia 598/NATunis,Tunisia 593/NA

OceaniaAuckland,NewZealand 521/NASydney,Australia 525/NAFiji 593/NA

*When available according to local customs.

Prices for low-sulfur gasoil expressed in US$ per cubic meter (1,000 liters) as of May 15, 2008

Region Duty-free*/dutypaidU.S.EastCoast

Ft.Lauderdale 1,047/1,115Savannah,Ga. 1,066/NANewport,R.I. 1,125/NA

CaribbeanSt.Thomas,USVI 1,156/NASt.Maarten 1,112/NAAntigua 1,069/NA

NorthAtlanticBermuda(IrelandIsland) 1,191/NACapeVerde 1,038/NAAzores 991/NACanaryIslands 1,066/1,215

MediterraneanGibraltar 1,094/NABarcelona,Spain 1,043/1,880PalmadeMallorca,Spain NA/1,872Antibes,France 1,141/2,187SanRemo,Italy 1,237/2,313Naples,Italy 1,205/2,203Venice,Italy 1,231/2,122Corfu,Greece 1,155/2,002Piraeus,Greece 1,139/1,987Istanbul,Turkey 1,120/NAMalta 1,078/1,272Bizerte,Tunisia 1,065/NATunis,Tunisia 1,065/NA

OceaniaAuckland,NewZealand 1,103/NASydney,Australia 1,120/NAFiji 1,247/NA

*When available according to customs.

Globe Wireless and Iridium launched the Iridium OpenPort satellite communication system for the yacht market at The Triton’s monthly networking event in May.

“Globe Wireless and Iridium have teamed up to create a very unique and appealing offer to the pleasure yacht market,” said Frank J. Coles, president and CEO of Globe Wireless. “The response at this event today has been overwhelmingly positive.”

OpenPort is a global IP service that offers three voice lines concurrent with always-on IP data connection. It is promoted as a backup for VSATs.

Globe Wireless offers products and services to the yacht market through its GlobeSwift product line, which can be found at www.globeswift.com.

KVH upgrades downKVH Industries has a new

promotion designed to make it easier to move from old “big dish” VSAT systems to KVH’s mini-VSAT service and TracPhone V7 hardware.

The promotion offers hardware and airtime discounts to mariners who replace an older VSAT system with the TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband service. Mariners have the

option of three months of free airtime and almost 40 percent off hardware costs when purchasing outright, or a 10 percent airtime discount and nearly 30 percent off the monthly hardware charge on a lease.

In other news, KVH has introduced the TracPhone FB150, a satellite system that measures 10.5 inches in diameter and 12 inches high. The fully stabilized system will offer IP data connections up to 150 Kbps and simultaneous voice and SMS service, all via Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband network.

Paradox Nav-Tracker SmartKEYBoat security systems supplier

Paradox Marine has enhanced its Nav-Tracker 2.0 wireless boat location and GPS tracking system with SmartKEY, which automatically disarms the system when the vessel operator boards the vessel and re-arms it when the operator disembarks.

SmartKEY uses RFID technology that allows for “no touch” arming and disarming of the Nav-Tracker 2.0 system. There are no buttons to push or keys to turn.

For more information, visit www.paradoxmarine.com or call toll-free in the United States, 1-866-929-4442.

TECHNOLOGY BRIEFS

Globe Wireless, Iridium launch OpenPort to megayacht market

B� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton MARINAS / SHIPYARDS

Vilanova Grand Marina – Barcelona welcomed its first boats in April to coincide with the holding of Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.

With an initial investment of 33 million euros and a two-year construction process, Vilanova Grand Marina has 49 moorings for yachts up to 80 meters in length. Half are for sale, and the other half will be reserved for rent.

About a third of the property is a shipyard for repair and refit work. Its concrete quay structure maintains a depth of up to 7 meters, power and water supply for large boats, in-slip refueling and collection of grey water, vehicle access to all moorings, and a helistop.

Still to come: a dry dock, restaurant, English pub and 75 retail and business offices. The dry dock will have two large-capacity Travelifts, two paint booths measuring 60m and 40m in length, and a workshop area with different dimensions. The project also includes the construction of a waiting and repair dock measuring 300 meters in length and a helistop intended to facilitate access to the marina.

For more information, visit www.vilanovagrandmarina.com, or call +34 609 643 085.

R.I. marina expansion haltedThe Supreme Court in Rhode Island

stayed a ruling in early May that had allowed Block Island’s Champlin’s Marina to expand into the Great Salt Pond, according to a story in Providence Business News.

The order halts work at the site. The court was expected to decide on May 28 whether to hear the case.

A 91-page Superior Court decision in February reversed a ruling by the previously deadlocked Coastal Resources Management Council of Rhode Island. In doing so, it allowed the marina to expand its 225-boat capacity by 140 boats.

Record sale for Ocean Reef dockBusiness and financial wires were

abuzz with the news that a yacht slip at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., has sold for a record $4 million. Sotheby’s

International Realty brokered the deal.

The slip, located on the T-Dock, can accommodate yachts up to 165 feet in length. The previous record sale at Ocean Reef for a similar size dock was $2 million.

The exclusive Ocean Reef Club offers a 175-slip marina with 24-hour security. Near the Gulf

Stream and North America’s only living coral reef, the surrounding waters offer deep-sea, reef, flats and back-country fishing.

Canal adds tugs, tie-up stationThe Panama Canal Authority (ACP)

has added five new tugboats to its fleet. The new units, purchased from Cheoy Lee Shipyards, have an output capacity of 4,800 horse power.

An additional 13 tugs, also purchased from Cheoy Lee, are scheduled to begin arriving in September 2010. The ACP plans to have a total fleet of 46 tugs by 2014.

In other news, the Canal’s second tie-up station, located at Cartagena approach, is in full operation. The new station allows the Canal to transit at least one additional vessel per day.

The way the ACP schedules vessel transits, traffic goes northbound (Pacific to Atlantic) in the morning and switches to southbound (Atlantic to Pacific) in the afternoon. Before the introduction of these tie-up stations, in the afternoon, for example, the two locks on the Pacific end of the Canal would have been idle until nearly the end of all of the southbound traffic. The tie-up stations use this down time by allowing northbound traffic in the afternoon to go through both the Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks; then these ships are secured at the tie-up station, wait for all of the southbound traffic to pass and continue their transit.

Along with the new track and turntable system in the Gatun locks and an enhanced tug fleet, the ACP has increased daily transits to more than 40 per day, according to an agency statement.

New Aussie marina for megayachtsPort Adelaide, located in South

Australia, is undergoing a period of growth and redevelopment. The local government plans to spend an estimated $1.5 billion to revitalize the area.

Marina West, which celebrated its grand opening in March, is Port

Barcelona’s Vilanova Grand opens for yachts up to 80m

See MARINAS, page B7

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B�

Adelaide’s newest marina. The facility, developed and operated by the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia (CYCSA), is an extension of the Club’s complex on the coast at North Haven. Marina West adds 73 slips to the region and offers the state’s biggest berths.

Bellingham Marine designed and built the new marina. Berths range in length from 11 meters to 35 meters. The marina features Bellingham’s Unifloat dock system with high freeboard and extra wide walkways.

For more information, contact

Bellingham Marine Australia, +613-9646-6744.

Bellingham parent soldAmbassadors Marine Group (AMG)

– parent company for Bellingham Marine and BellPort Group – announced in mid-May that it had been sold to Bellwether Financial Group.

Bellwether is a private company in California, headed by President and CEO Joe Ueberroth. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under Ueberroth, Bellingham and BellPort will act as independent, privately held companies, returning to

them a more competitive and entrepreneurial method of operation, according to a company statement.

Ueberroth has been associated with both companies for more than 12 years, including serving as CEO, director, and as a customer.

For more information, visit www.bellingham-marine.com or www.bellportgroup.com.

Port Adelaide yacht club extends berths for yachts

MARINAS / SHIPYARDS

MARINAS, from page A24

B� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton FROM THE TECH FRONT: Rules of the Road

This person, appointed by the company with direct access to the highest level of management, ensures safe operation of each yacht and provides a link between the company and those on board. The DP has the responsibility and authority to monitor safety and pollution prevention aspects and ensure that adequate resources and shore-based support are supplied.

Over the years, the DP role has increased in stature and responsibility. To promote a higher standard of qualification and implement some consistency for the DP, the IMO released a guidance circular.

In the area of qualifications, the DP’s role is one of debate and excessive interpretation. Typically, our industry has assimilated this position with a company employee that possesses seagoing experience and maintains a management-level position within the shore-side organization.

There have been some companies where this has not been the case, where a DP has come from a purely business management background, to appointment through family lineage, or through promotion from administrative ranks. This, however, is more of the exception than the rule.

The IMO circular outlined a minimum set of criteria for formal education. It stated that the DP must possess one of the following:l qualifications from a tertiary

institution recognized by the Administration or by the recognized organization, within a relevant field of management, engineering, or physical science; or l qualifications and seagoing

experience as a certified ship officer pursuant to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended; orl other formal education combined

with not less than three years practical senior-level experience in ship management operations.

For practical training, the IMO insists that the DP should have undergone training relating to safety management elements in compliance with the requirements of the ISM Code, particularly with regard to:l knowledge and understanding of

the ISM Code; l mandatory rules and regulations; l applicable codes, guidelines and

standards as appropriate; l assessment techniques of

examining, questioning, evaluating and reporting; l technical or operational aspects of

safety management; l appropriate knowledge of shipping

and shipboard operations; l participation in at least one

marine-related management system audit; and

l effective communications with shipboard staff and senior management.

And lastly, in the most important area of experience, the following is necessitated:l ability to present ISM matters

to the highest level of management and gain sustained support for safety management system improvements; l determine whether the safety

management system elements meet the requirements of the ISM Code; l determine the effectiveness of

the safety management system within the company and the ship by using established principles of internal audit and management review to ensure compliance with rules and regulations; l assess the effectiveness of the

safety management system in ensuring compliance with other rules and regulations that are not covered by statutory and classification surveys and enabling verification of compliance with these rules and regulations;l assess whether the safe practices

recommended by the organization, administrations, classification societies, other international bodies and maritime industry organizations to promote a safety culture had been taken into account; and l gather and analyze data from

hazardous occurrences, situations, near misses, incidents and accidents and apply lessons learned to improve the safety management system.

Since verification of ISM Code compliance is achieved through a series of audits, the IMO further outlined that the company should provide training, including practical training and continuous updating. The company should also provide evidence that the DP has the relevant qualification, training and experience to undertake the duties under the ISM Code.

In the past few years with the implementation of the STCW Code, we have seen that minimum certifications and education cannot replace real experience. Let us strive to ensure that with the continued implementation of this Circular, the number of “qualified” Designated Persons increases, rather than regressing to amplified numbers of homogenous “certified” DPs.

Capt. Jake DesVergers is chief surveyor for International Yacht Bureau (IYB), an organization that provides inspection services to yachts on behalf of several flag administrations, including the Marshall Islands. A deck officer graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, he previously sailed as master on merchant ships, acted as designated person for a shipping company, and served as regional manager for an international classification society. Contact him at +1-954-596-2728 or www.yachtbureau.org. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

RULES, from page B1

DP’s role has increased in stature

B10 June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

yachts travel on the Savannah River. If you do not draw more than seven or eight feet, there’s a nice shortcut back to the Atlantic through Elba Island Cut. Head back down the Savannah to R36, and turn to starboard into the cut. Watch out for the strong cross current as you enter. High tide is best for this route.

You will come to Causton Bluff bascule bridge, which opens on demand except during rush hour weekdays (6:30-9 a.m.). Still, the bridge opens at 7 and 8 a.m. In the evening, it is closed 4:30-6:30 with an opening at 5:30. The width opening is 100 feet.

Continue a mile or so and you are in the town of Thunderbolt. To port you have Savannah Bend Marina, which has 70 feet on its face dock (Dockmaster Joe Terrabonne, +1 912-897-3625).

Across the way is Hinckley Yacht Services, managed by Mike Pranschke. His docks are busy but sometimes he can accommodate you. He has excellent workmen there of all trades, and can haul up to 50 gross tons and 60 feet (+1 912-629-2400).

Under the fixed bridge, with clearance of 65 feet, Bahia Bleu Marina is to starboard. There is usually dockage available on the front dock for yachts up to 180 feet (+1 912-228-4476, www.morningstarmarinas.com). The other bascule bridge is no longer there.

Last, but not least, is Thunderbolt Marina (Dockmaster Hal Parsons, +1 912-356-3875), where you still get free doughnuts placed on deck in the morning. Thunderbolt is in the process of extending its docks up river where the restaurant was demolished.

Right alongside the marina is Thunderbolt Marine at marker 35, formerly Palmer Johnson from Wisconsin (+1 912-352-4931). This yard

has a SynchroLift capable of 1,150 tons and 180 feet, and a Travelift for 150 tons, as well as a large protected basin with floating docks. The largest yachts can be painted in buildings.

Thunderbolt has several marine businesses close by including: River Supply for large chandlery stock; River Services for service, sales and repairs of life rafts, inflatables and flares; and Sea Stitch for canvas work.

You can proceed to sea down the Wilmington River, but remember, you are in the Intracoastal Waterway until Skidaway River at marker R40. Your next one to starboard in the Wilmington River will be G29. Navigating down the river is straightforward until you reach Wassaw Sound, where buoys are quite small until you reach the last one, R2W. Remember, they are sensitive about wake. Boats have been fined. Straight to Thunderbolt

For entering Wassaw Sound from offshore, Capt. Emile Bootsma of M/Y Blue Moon said there may be some short cuts for the Wilmington River inbound, but because of the constant movement of the sand banks he would not advise taking any.

Instead, keep to the channel. Keep a tight turn around R4 (less than 100 feet) as it shoals pretty quickly on the southwest and west side of R4.

Capt. Bootsma said this is the point you are now beam-to the swell and should maintain caution because this is where the water is skinniest. At high tide it will be about 15 feet. Depending on your draft, it is best to attempt this an hour either side of high. Savannah tidal range is in the 6- to 7-foot range.

Capt. Bootsma recommends to turn a little early at G5 as there are shoals to

Wassaw Sound

Savannah River

Will

min

gton

Riv

er

ATLANTIC OCEAN

lN

Ft. Pulaski

Pilot Station

USCG

Hyatt & City Docks

Savannah MegaYacht

Causton Bluff Bridge

Thunderbolt

Landings & Savannah Yacht Club

Buoyage Change

Elba Island Cut

South Channel

Skidaway River

SAVANNAH, from page B1

Shortcut to Atlantic at R36

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: Savannah, Ga.

See SAVANNAH, page B11

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B11

By Capt. John Campbell

The Okefenokee Swamp lies on the Florida-Georgia border in the southeastern United States, a two-hour drive from Savannah. The northern two-thirds of the swamp that are in Georgia are protected as a National Wildlife Refuge. It covers a vast area, something in excess of 400,000 acres or about 1,700 square kilometers.

These figures are hard to comprehend until you venture out into the swamp. The feeling of isolation, of remoteness, is literally awe inspiring.

The best way to explore the swamp is by canoe or kayak. There are many tours offered using motor boats, and I am sure that the guides are veritable founts of knowledge, but having heard a few of these boats pass, I cannot help but feel they chase away most of the wildlife.

I rented a kayak from Okefenokee Adventures, which is located at the boat basin inside the eastern

entrance to the swamp (www.okefenokeeadventures.com, +1-912-496-7156).

Admission to the park is $5 a car, and this has to be the bargain of the century, especially as the pass is good for a week. To rent a kayak was just $25 dollars for the day.

Armed with a small map that the park staff gave me, I ventured westward along a narrow, shallow canal, which is off limits to motor boats. I had, of course, expected to see alligators, but as I rounded the first bend, I came face to face with a big one. In fact, it was the biggest one I saw all day, and it was about the same size as the kayak. We eyed each other warily, and he swam slowly past, barely 3 feet away.

Once my pulse rate returned to double digits, I paddled on slowly and a bit more circumspectly. Along the length of that canal, some 2 miles, I passed a dozen more alligators.

See OkEfENOkEE, page B12

Visit solitude and nature in the Okefenokee Swamp

SAVANNAH DIVERSION: Okefenokee Swamp

the northeast.He says to turn to the northwest as

soon as you see G9, G10 and G11 in line. From here it is about 18 nautical miles to Thunderbolt. Remember to slow down (no wake) at the Landings Marina on Skidaway Island, and the Savannah Yacht Club, and keep minimum wake off the private docks off Wilmington Island.

Lastly, he reminded, don’t be caught out by the buoyage change just south of the Savannah Yacht Club where the ICW joins the Wilmington River.

For another next destination north of Savannah River, Capt. Bootsma said enter into Calibogue Sound for Hilton

Head and Harbor Town. Enter at the main ship channel to Tybee Roads. Make a securité and call the pilot station to inform of your intentions, but you do not require a pilot (+1 912-236-0226). It is 3.5 miles to Harbor Town (www.harbourtownyachtbasin.com, +1 843-671-2704).

There is a lot to do here and they can accommodate yachts up to 150 feet. Well worth a diversion.

Capt. Tony Perry has worked on yachts since serving in the Royal Navy in the 1950s. He is in working retirement on Wilmington Island as a relief captain. Comments on this story and suggestions for other local knowledge stories are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

SAVANNAH, from page B10

Watch for buoyage change

Alligators aplenty in the Okefenokee Swamp, as might be expected. Still, seeing large ones up close ... PHOTO/CAPT. JOHN CAMPBELL

B1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton SAVANNAH DIVERSION: Okefenokee Swamp

Sometimes all I could see was a pair of eyes, and two or three feet in front, a pair of nostrils. The water is the color of strong, black tea, so the rest of the animal was invisible.

I would find out that if the canal was narrow and an alligator thought I was too close, it would quietly submerge and disappear. This was actually more intimidating than having it swim close by, because I knew it was below the kayak. I much preferred to see them swim slowly past.

At the end of this canal, I crossed the larger Suwannee Canal, which is the main route of the motor boats. This canal was dug in 1891 in a misguided attempt to drain the swamp for logging.

Fortunately for us, the project failed and the swamp lives on.

I quickly crossed the canal, and the steady stream of motor boats, and entered a northbound canal, which is also motor-free. It leads to Cedar Hammock.

For a mile or so I paddled in company with another couple, but then we went our separate ways, and I

continued alone for 3 more miles. Huge cypress trees, draped in Spanish moss overhang the bank. At times it felt like I was paddling through a tunnel.

I cannot mention Spanish moss without pointing out that it is neither Spanish nor moss. It is actually an airplant, and is more closely related to the pineapple family than to any moss.

I was still passing alligators every few hundred yards, and there were many birds. I spotted two sandhill cranes foraging. They are big, looking to my inexpert eye like two skinny ostriches. I passed a white ibis that was

sitting on the top of a broken tree, and it looked imperiously down on me as I paddled by.

It is hard to describe the feeling of remoteness, of solitude without resorting to clichés: awe-inspiring and primordial being the two that most often came to mind. I was 3 or 4 miles from the nearest road or path, probably a couple of miles from the nearest person. I found the solitude addictive; I did not want to turn round, but kept paddling ever farther into the swamp.

Even when no alligators were in sight, I was constantly reminded of their presence. It was late spring and the males were staking out their territory ready for mating and nest building. They make a curious double grunt, which is a low frequency and can be heard for a mile or more. I can best describe this sound, which I could feel as much as hear, as a cross between the noise made by a large flatulent man, and Rolf Harris playing his didgeridoo.

It is possible to camp overnight or longer, but permits are restricted. They can be booked up to two months ahead and often get booked out on the first day of issue.

Unfortunately I was not able to spend the night, so eventually I had to head back. The kayaks have to be off the water and logged back in with the operator before 6 p.m.

For those who are not inclined to venture out afloat, there is an interesting boardwalk that wends its way across the swamp for almost a mile.

At the end, there is a four-story tower from which you can look out across one of the prairies, an open area almost choked with water lilies.

While I was in the tower, I met an enthusiastic group of bird watchers. They were getting excited at having spotted several rare birds. Although I did not see any alligators from the tower, you could hear them clearly calling from all sides.

At the north end of the swamp there is another entrance, which sounds more like a theme park.

Next time, I will try the western entrance, where the Suwannee River drains the swamp and begins its journey across Florida.

Capt. John Campbell has been yacht captain for more than 20 years and a sailor all his life. He is currently in command of the 45m S/Y Timoneer. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

OkEfENOkEE, from page B11

Camping permits available, but are snapped up quickly

For those not inclined to venture out afloat, there is a boardwalk across the swamp.

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B1�CRUISING GROUNDS BRIEFS

On April 20, the new minister for national security of Antigua & Barbuda, Errol Cort, called a meeting of business representatives, the National Parks, the Antigua & Barbuda Marine Association and others around English Harbour and Falmouth.

According to a government statement, Cort pointed out several new initiatives including: stop and search of vehicles not only in English Harbour/Falmouth but in other parts of the island; increased foot and vehicle police patrols; greater involvement in policing by the Royal Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force; and increased use of the Coast Guard in protecting the harbors.

Commissioner of Police Tom Bennett gave more detail to the restructuring of the police force, including new equipment and training. Parliament member Eleston Adams voiced his support for the community and its yachting visitors and proposed to take an active role in the safety and security of English Harbour/Falmouth.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Neal Parker announced that community policing techniques have been introduced to the English Harbour area and will be used as a pilot scheme for other areas of the island.

U.S., Dutch speed border crossingsOfficials of the United States and

the Netherlands launched a new initiative in late April that streamlines processing at the border.

“By mutually recognizing these two programs, the governments of the United States and the Netherlands will be making travel between our nations more convenient and more secure,” said U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. “We are pleased to join the government and immigration officials of the Netherlands in using technology and modern security tools to strengthen and streamline our entry processes.”

Membership in the U.S. program, Global Entry, is limited to those considered low-risk after a background check. Once approved, members can use a kiosk at international airports in New York, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami to enter.

To become a member of Privium, the Netherlands program, travelers are subject to a background check. The program provides members faster border passage through an iris scan at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

More information is available at GlobalEntry.gov.

Safety meeting in Antigua; U.S., Dutch speed border crossings

B1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

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CRUISING GROUNDS: Isles des Saintes

By Capt. John Campbell

The Isles des Saintes are universally known as the Saintes. They are a group of small islands a few miles south of the French island of Guadeloupe.

Although they are administered by Guadeloupe, they have a unique charm, and they seem to have avoided the worst of modern development. Indeed, not much has changed since I first went there in 1972.

The Saintes sprang into nautical prominence in 1782. The previous year, the French admiral de Grasse had landed troops in Virginia, in support of George Washington’s fight against the British. He then went on to thrash the British fleet under Admiral Graves, and pretty much ensured the success of the American Revolution.

Hot from this conquest, feeling his luck was in, de Grasse decided to go

and capture Jamaica from the Brits. He might well have succeeded in this but for two things: he decided to team up with a Spanish fleet, and Admiral Rodney arrived in the Caribbean just in time to learn of the dastardly plan.

Rodney set off in pursuit and caught the combined fleet as it was assembling near the Saintes. Had he not lingered for the Spanish but sailed straight for Jamaica, there is little doubt that Rodney could not have caught them, and Jamaicans would probably be speaking French now.

But catch them he did, and a bloody battle was fought. In those days, battles were fought to a strict protocol. The usual form was for the ships to form lines and sail past each other on a reciprocal course, shooting each other as they went by.

See SAINtES, page B15

The only town, Bourg, is a collection of traditional houses huddled around the village square. PHOTO/CAPT. JOHN CAMPBELL

Travel to Isles des Saintes to enjoy charm unspoiled

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B1�

A wind shift at the wrong moment caused the French line of ships to break into sections. The Brits, rather unsportingly in the eyes of the French, sailed through the gaps, blasting ships on either side of them. The French cried foul, but the battle was lost. Most of the French ships were sunk, and more than 6,000 French sailors perished. The battle is known as The Battle of the Saintes.

Having suffered a bloody nose, the French decided to make sure they could at least hang onto their possessions of Martinique and Guadeloupe, and to this end they set about fortifying the Saintes, which gave handy protection to the south coast of Guadeloupe.

They built the imposing Fort Napoleon on the hill overlooking the main anchorage off Bourg, and the slightly less imposing Fort Josephine on the top of the island of Terre d’en Basse, facing the anchorage.

Bourg: the only town

The only town, Bourg, is on the island of Terre d’en Haut. It is a wonderful collection of traditional houses huddled around the village square, which is in front of the Maire, the town hall.

Despite what it says in several of the cruising guides, you can clear in and out of Bourg, and it is absolutely painless. You can usually clear in and out at the same time, and just one form covers all that is needed. I wish some of the other islands were as easy.

To clear, go to the Maire, walk down the right-hand side of the building, and you will see what looks like a small annex at the back. Go there, and inside on the right is the office marked “police.” They will take care of everything. We have always found them friendly and helpful, especially if you can manage a smattering of French.

Once the form is completed, they fax it to Guadeloupe. You have to wait for them to fax it back, but this is no chore if you go and enjoy a coffee and croissant in one of the many waterfront bars, and return an hour or so later.

They have always let us clear out a few days in advance and there is no charge. For me, they get the Gold Star for making clearing the easiest in the entire Caribbean Basin.

There are anchorage options

We generally stay anchored off Bourg as there is a lot to do right there. If it gets too rolly, which it tends to if a big north swell is running, then there are several other anchorages to choose from, according to the wind and swell.

When anchored off Bourg it is well

worth taking a walk up the hill to Fort Napoleon. It was completed in 1867, is remarkably well preserved, and houses a good museum.

In the museum is a display depicting the tactics and results of the Battle of the Saintes, as well as local items of interest, including some examples of the fast-disappearing “Santoise” fishing boats. The museum is open only

SAINtES, from page B14

See SAINtES, page B16 A view of Bourg from above. PHOTO/CAPT. JOHN CAMPBELL

CRUISING GROUNDS: Isles des Saintes

Clearing in, out of Bourg can be done painlessly

B1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton CRUISING GROUNDS: Isles des Saintes

in the mornings, and there is a small admission charge.

Another good, slightly more strenuous walk is up to the lookout on top of Le Chameau, the camel, on the south side of the bay. From here you can see all of the Saintes, a good part of Guadeloupe and, on a clear day, much of Dominica.

The way is marked “Le Chameau” from the road that runs around the waterfront.

In town, most grocery supplies can be bought, including, of course, French bread and croissants. In recent years numerous small boutiques and gift shops have sprung up.

Some of them offer interesting things, a cut above the usual run-of-the-mill T-shirt shops.

On the waterfront in Bourg is the Yacht Club des Saintes, owned and run by a helpful chap called Jerome. He can supply water via a buoy moored off his yacht club, and is a fount of knowledge. He can be called on the VHF on channel 68 as “Jerome.”

There is a small shipyard, a sailmaker and little chandlery in Marigot Bay. If anchored off Bourg, it

is not a difficult walk, or you can rent a motor-scooter to get there.

Marigot lies to the east of Fort Napoleon, and in reasonable weather it is quite a good anchorage.

If the local folk cannot supply what you need, in many cases they will arrange to get stuff sent over on one of the many ferries that run between the Saintes and Guadeloupe.

No visit to the Saintes is complete without tasting the local delicacy,

the “tourment d’amour,” the agony of love. Small stands beside the road sometimes sell them, or ladies in town sell them from a basket. They are sweet tarts with a coconut base. Traditionally they were eaten by the ladies of the

islands to ease the agony of missing their lovers who had gone to sea.

It is dubious that their supposed pharmaceutical properties work with any degree of reliability, but I can vouch for the fact that they are tasty.

Capt. John Campbell has been yacht captain for more than 20 years and a sailor all his life. He is currently in command of the 45m S/Y Timoneer. Comments on this story are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

SAINtES, from page B15

The compact Bourg waterfront is home to Yacht Club des Saintes. PHOTO/CAPT. JOHN CAMPBELL

Taste ‘tourment d’amour,’ a coconut-based sweet tart

If the local folk cannot supply what you need, in many cases they will arrange to get stuff sent over on one of the many ferries that run between the Saintes and Guadeloupe.

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B1�CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Despite the recent economic slowdown, the megayacht sector continues to grow. What does the future hold? PHOTO/MIKE PRICE

EVENT OF THE MONTH

June 3 Networking Triton style (the first Wednesday of every month), 6-8 p.m., with our sponsor and Triton advertiser YachtZoo in Ft. Lauderdale. Find out more on page C3. June 3 Networking Triton style (the first Wednesday of every month), 6-8 p.m., with our sponsor and Triton advertiser Crew Unlimited in Antibes. Find out more on page C3.

June 4 The Triton Bridge luncheon, noon, Ft. Lauderdale. A roundtable discussion of the issues of the day. Yacht captains only. RSVP to Editor Lucy Reed at lucy@the-triton.com or 954-525-0029. Space is limited.

June 6 Annual Great Chowder Cook-off, Newport Yachting Center, Newport, Rhode Island. Features 3,000 gallons of chowder served by some of the best restaurants and chefs as they compete for more than $10,000 in prizes. +1 401-846-1600, www.newportfestivals.com

June 6 Take the Helm 8th Women’s Sailing Conference, sponsored by BoatU.S. and organized by the National Women’s Sailing Association, Corinthian Yacht Club, Marblehead, Mass. For women to introduce and/or enhance skills in recreational sailing. Also breakfast, lunch, dinner, raffles, and guest speaker. www.BoatUS.com/women or 781-631-2084.

June 7 Sunday Jazz Brunch (first

Sunday of every month) along the New River in downtown Ft. Lauderdale from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. www.fortlauderdale.gov

June 7-12 26th annual Treasure Cay Billfish Tournament, Treasure Cay, Abaco. www.treasurecayfishing.com. Sabine Kirchner, 954-525-7711 or email: info@treasurecay.com

June 8 World Ocean Day. Hundreds of communities around the globe will celebrate to learn about the world ocean, our connection to it and to raise awareness about the role of the ocean in our lives, and the ways people can protect it. The Ocean Project has over 830 partner aquariums, zoos, science museums and educational organizations in 70 countries to focus on conservation of the ocean. See events at www.WorldOceanDay.org

June 12-14 New York Yacht Club’s 155th annual regatta presented by Rolex, the longest-running regatta in America. Open to yachts 25 feet and larger. www.nyyc.org

June 15-21 The U.S. Open, Black Course at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, N.Y. One of golf ’s major tournaments. See info and interactive course online at www.usopen.com

June 18-21 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, Ocean City Beach, Ocean City,

June 22-23, 4th annual Future of Superyachts ConferencePalma de Mallorca, Spain This two-day conference focuses on legal, financial, tax, crewing, registration, build and design issues. It attracts an international audience of senior yacht executives. Chaired this year by Paul Miller of Underwriting Risk Services. Includes an optional visit to a local boatyard, champagne roundtables, and a debate about the need for harmonization of yacht regulatory, legal and fiscal regimes. Cost: 530£; about 600€ www.quaynote.com

See CALENDAR, page B18

Triton networks across the pond

B1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CALENDAR, from page B17MAKING PLANSSept. 23-2619th annual Monaco Yacht ShowPort Hercules, Monaco

More than 500 exhibitors and 95 megayachts are expected in the only yacht show exclusively devoted to superyachts of at least 25 meters in length; more than half are larger than 40 meters. Forty yachts made their first public appearance at last year’s show. The show brings together ship-builders, designers, equipment suppliers, brokers and service providers. Tickets are 60€ per day. www.monacoyachtshow.org

MD. Series features more than 150 of the top athletes in this sport. www.avp.com

June 22 USSA’s Captains briefing/reception, Newport Shipyard, Newport, R.I.. U.S. Superyacht Association hosts a captain’s briefing on the Northeastern U.S. Captains and senior officers of large yachts are welcome to attend. It’s an opportunity to ask questions and hear updates from government officials. www.ussuperyacht.com

June 22- July 5 Wimbledon, London. One of the four grand slam tennis tournaments. www.wimbledon.org

June 23-26 27th annual Spring Charter Yacht Show, Newport Shipyard, Newport, R.I. Dozens of charter yachts on display at this industry-only event. Yacht hops, industry seminars, crew kick-off party and a fam trip are all planned. www.newportshipyard.com

June 24-25 Cruise Shipping Miami Virtual Tradeshow. The web-based event is an extension of the Cruise Shipping Miami event for both exhibitors and attendees. Includes educational presentations, a virtual lounge for attendees to network via live-chat and an exhibit hall with virtual “booths”. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST at www.cruiseshippingmiami.com/virtualshow.

June 26 Sunset Music Festival, Newport Yachting Center. First act in the summer-long series is Los Lobos ($30 and $20). www.newportfestivals.com

June 26-28 Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! Seminar, Stuart, Fla. Contact: phone: (954) 475-9068; email: info@ladiesletsgofishing.com and www.ladiesletsgofishing.com

July 1 Networking Triton style (the first Wednesday of every month), 6-8 p.m. No RSVP necessary; just bring business cards and be prepared to bump into old friends. Stay tuned to www.The-Triton.com for details.

July 2 The Triton Bridge luncheon, noon, Ft. Lauderdale. A roundtable discussion of the issues of the day. Yacht captains only. RSVP to Editor Lucy Reed at lucy@the-triton.com or 954-525-0029. Space is limited.

July 2-5 AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, Brooklyn, N.Y. Features the top athletes in this sport. www.avp.com

July 5 Sunday Jazz Brunch (first Sunday of every month) along the New River in downtown Ft. Lauderdale from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. www.fortlauderdale.gov

July 6-12 Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, Newport, R.I., Host to 32 of the top players on grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. First American stop on the ATP World Tour following Wimbledon, the only professional grass court tournament in North America. www.tennisfame.com

July 15-17 9th annual MAATS (Marine Aftermarket Accessories Trade Show), Orange County Convention Center and Westin Imagine hotel in Orlando. Business-building event for marine accessory manufacturers and buyers to connect with trade show exhibits, private buyer-supplier meetings, product introductions, awards programs, and networking. For details visit www.maats.net.

July 17-19 2009, annual Newport Bucket Regatta, Newport Shipyard, Rhode Island. The Newport Bucket is an invitational regatta open to yachts over 90 feet (27m), previous participant or by special agreement. The regatta is limited to 25 yachts. www.newportbucket.com

July 29 12th Annual Nantucket Nectars Sunset Music Series, Newport Yachting Center. Chris Isaak starts the summer-long series. Future acts include Huey Lewis and The News, Los Lobos, Susan Tedeschi, Michael McDonald and The Robert Cray Band. 401-846-1600, www.newportfestivals.com.

USSA captains briefing once again at Newport Shipyard

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 B19

Triton Spotters

SPOTTED

Eng. Andy Lee-Elliot of the 120-foot M/Y Ilona, relaxes off the boat in his Monaco flat with The Triton. Hey, someone has to live here. Might as well be Lee-Elliot. PHOTO/MIKE PRICE

Where have you and your Triton been lately?

Send photos to lucy@the-triton.com. If we print yours, you get a T-shirt.

The Triton hung out at the Cannes Film Festival in May, albeit on the fringes, with non-yachtie Marie Coyne, who found the news interesting just the same. PHOTO/MIKE PRICE

www.the-triton.com June 2009Section C

June networking

C3In Lauderdale and Antibes.

May networking

C2With LMC and V-Kool

Take it Out

C5

Tips to clean carpets, drapes, furniture.

Get to It

C15Financial things left undone can hurt in long run.

Mix it Up

C4Yacht chef joins Pebble Beach show.

June 2009

Great – you know how to do your job and you do it well. But in this employment climate, do extra things. If you’re a stew but make the time and effort to help the engineer install a new swim ladder bracket by holding a screwdriver, you’re enhancing your status onboard.PHOTO/LUCY REED (2007)

Several speakers at The Triton’s spring Expo in April offered valuable information for yacht crew, both novice and veteran. This is the second in a series of presentations from the Expo.

By Capt. Gregory Clark

It’s spring 2009 and the world economy is in confusion. The yachting industry is experiencing its greatest “correction” ever. Crew are pounding the docks from Ft. Lauderdale to Antibes, with fewer jobs available than at any time in recent history.

So if you are one of the lucky ones who has a job already, or if you’re lucky enough to get your foot in the door and land that hard-to-get job in this uncertain market, the question may soon become: How do you keep it?

There will always be factors that

remain outside your control, but there are also actions you can take – starting today – that will help you succeed in your new job, better your chances for remaining employed, and increase your ability to rebound should the unthinkable happen.

Implementation of these ideas will also contribute to your upward mobility throughout your time in the yachting industry, or any other endeavor you may pursue.

If you’re joining a new boat, the first day can be a little daunting; joining an established crew can be especially intimidating for a new crew member who’s not quite sure how to fit in. Here are some “simple, not easy” tips.

Remember that you have two ears and one mouth, so act in accordance with your natural biological proportions. The fact is that no one

cares what you know until they know that you care. Remember that you’re trying to assimilate with and gain the respect of your new crew mates, who in the beginning are only concerned about the attitude you bring and how you contribute to the team’s goals.

Are you going to be an asset or a liability? Will you listen, learn and retain, or are you too busy talking about how things were done on your last boat? Will you apply what you learn so that you are useful and share the work load, or do you have to be told and shown the same thing over and over?

In the beginning, these are the things that matter to your new crew mates. By being a good student, and applying and retaining what you

See EXPO, page C12

Keeping a job: simple, but not easy

‘Become the most valuable team member on the boat. Not just to your captain, but in the eyes of all your teammates. Easily said, but how do you do that? It’s simple and effective, but not easy. Here’s the secret: Do the things you don’t have to do, even when you think no one is looking.’

– Capt.Gregory ClarkYou have heard the saying, “opposites attract.” So what if opposites attract and contrast at the same time?

In nature, this is a good thing as it relates to yin and yang: the balance of our environments, our bodies, and our food.

When my father was diagnosed with cancer years ago, I was already into a healing diet and so I introduced it to

him. Its primary focus is on the energy of foods. The principle of yin and yang exists in our foods and in their healing properties. Eating a yin-and-yang diet encourages these properties to interact

Culinary Waves

Mary Beth Lawton Johnson

By Lucy Chabot Reed

Talk about tempting fate. Asking about loyalty is like writing about grammar. We are bound to do it wrong. But we did it anyway.

Perhaps the most interesting result in our eight-question survey is that nearly all respondents considered themselves a loyal member of the crew.

“As long as both parties, employee/crew member and boss/owner/captain, are straight-forward, honest and respectful, most crew members will remain loyal,” said a crew member in yachting 4-5 years. “Problems are caused when there is disrespect and dishonesty.”

If we think about it, who would admit to being disloyal? Only four of

Survey: Is there loyalty onboard?

Food can keepbody in balance

See WAVES, page C7

See SURVEY, page C10

C� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton NETWORKING LAST MONTH: Lauderdale Marine Center/Total Marine Solutions

About 400 captains, crew and yachting professionals

gathered at Lauderdale Marine Center on the first Wednesday in May to network and relax after a busy spring. Busy? Absolutely. The repair yards have seen a bustle of activity this spring, and even crew without full-time jobs have been busy dayworking, networking and looking for work. LMC pulled out all the stops and had delicious fare from Mediterranean Market, generous beer and wine, a gloriously breezy evening, and lots of space for everyone. We do this every month; the only thing that changes is the location.

More than 160 captains, crew and yachting

professionals met the team at Total Marine Solutions at our second networking event in April. TMS handles most things environmental on yachts, including toilet systems and bilge water systems. A trailer was set up for hands-on system demos. The YES boys shared the tunes, and Mediterranean Market brought yummy food. Make plans to gather with us this month. Find out where and when on the next page.

Photos by Lucy Chabot Reed and Peg Garvia Soffen

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C�NETWORKING THIS MONTH: Crew Unlimited in Lauderdale and Antibes

Talk about embracing the industry. Crew placement agency Crew Unlimited is hosting two Triton networking events on the first Wednesday in June, one in Ft. Lauderdale and one at its new office in Antibes.

Veteran crew placement agent and longtime Crew Unlimited office manager Sue Price has set up the Antibes office for the summer, so stop by and say hello on June 3 from 6-8 p.m. at 30 Rue Lacan in the Galerie du Port, behind The Blue Lady bar.

(Those who know Price will recognize her charming husband, Capt. Mike Price, there as well. Mike Price is part of The Triton crew and will be walking the docks across the Cote d’Azur all summer. Stop him, say hi, give him news and let him take your photos for exposure in The Triton.)

On the west side of the Atlantic, Crew Unlimited is hosting the June 3 networking event in the Maxwell Room, that groovy, cave-like spot behind The Downtowner Saloon on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale. (Enter through the courtyard, or pass through the saloon all the way to the back.)

Once again, our events are always from 6-8 p.m. and promise lots of camaraderie, a starter beverage and some tasty hors d’oeuvres.

Until then, learn a little more about Crew Unlimited’s new Mediterranean office from Price (Sue, that is).

Q. Why open an office in Antibes? With the Internet, can’t you place crew from anywhere?

We have wanted to open an office in the Med for years. This year just seemed the right time to do it with so many crew looking for work, and with boats coming out of being skeleton-crewed we knew there would be a place for us.

Yes, we place crew all over the world

and our Web site can be used anywhere in the world, but it is always nice to be face to face. Some crew have never been to Ft. Lauderdale and we wanted to meet them, as well as be on the ground for captains who can’t wait six hours until our Ft. Lauderdale office opens.

Having an office here lets us give six more hours of service to all our crew and clients every day.

Q. How has it been going so far?We’ve been cranking. There’s been a

line out the door since we opened with crew coming in to update their profiles and register.

We have also been busy with job orders from captains here in the Med. They are all Med-based boats that might use us when they go to the Caribbean, but that usually use Med-based placement agencies when they are here.

A lot of crew are frustrated with no work and are tired of looking over their resumes again and again, so we’ve been giving helpful suggestions to highlight things about themselves that they may not have thought was relevant but actually is.

Q. How do you see the season going, both for your business and for the industry?

The season is off to a slow start but I have seen it picking up every day.

Crew are getting interviews, captains are getting charters and boats are moving.

We will see it getting busier still, but perhaps not as busy as the last few years.

Q. What do crew need to know about your new office?

We are open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. every day, but interview hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Unlike most French offices that close two hours for lunch, we don’t. Crew are welcome to come in and use our computers anytime during office hours.

Crew can register online and upload a resume, and once they do that, they can see our job list and show an interest in any job without having to come by. And there’s no fee.

Crew Unlimited opens in Med, hosts events in FLL, Antibes

Price

Visiting a new port?

Can’t find the serviceyou need?

Visit The Captain’s Mate,The Triton’s new online

resource directory of business and ports

around the world.

Created by the news leaders you trust; populated by fellow captains and crew.

Check it out today:www.thecaptainsmate.com

Visiting a new port?

Can’t find the serviceyou need?

Visit The Captain’s Mate,The Triton’s new online

resource directory of business and ports

around the world.

Created by the news leaders you trust; populated by fellow captains and crew.

Check it out today:www.thecaptainsmate.com

Visiting a new port?

Can’t find the serviceyou need?

Visit The Captain’s Mate,The Triton’s new online

resource directory of business and ports

around the world.

Created by the news leaders you trust; populated by fellow captains and crew.

Check it out today:www.thecaptainsmate.com

The Triton continues to expand, adds staff in the Med

Mike Price is representing The Triton and The Captain’s Mate in the Med this summer. He’ll be setting up new listings in The Captain’s Mate (our online directory of resources for large yacht crew, www.tcmate.com), collecting new information for the splash pages in the directory’s regional sections, and updating our distribution locations and contacts.

We’ve also added a special Med spread in the center of the A section (this month, it’s pages A12-13) to showcase news and crew in the region.

For questions or advertising details, contact Capt. Price at mike@the-triton.com or on his cell at +33 06-20-35-60-36

C� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

On the U.S. Pacific Coast, yacht Chef Patrick Roney assisted top chefs in the 2nd annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine Show in Califorina in mid-April.

“There are things you miss in the industry when you are working on yachts,” Roney said. “I got to see what’s going on. I got my mojo back.”

The chef on M/Y Kapalua, Roney was invited to the event, which included golf tournaments, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings as well as many lunches and dinners.

“I got to learn new styles and techniques, what the Michelin chefs are doing, like using more sea urchin, foie gras and more with just vegetables.”

He said the event was like getting training in 30 restaurants, working with diverse culinary experts.

“On a yacht you get a lot of praise on your work, but working with others … I was really humbled,” he said. “I realize how much I need to know and do to be top shelf.”

– Dorie Cox

Yacht chef mixes with pros at show

CHEF NEWS

Chef Patrick Roney of M/Y Kapalua, left, with Chef Arturo Moscoso of Peppoli, a restaurant also in Pebble Beach. PHOTO FROM PATRICK RONEY

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C�INTERIOR: Stew Cues

Last month, we talked about cleaning hard surfaces on the boat, and this month it’s soft goods such as upholstery, draperies and carpet.

Dust settles on upholstery and fabrics just as it does on hard surfaces. It should be removed regularly with vacuum cleaner attachments: the upholstery nozzle, brush and crevice tool.

However, if you are cleaning down-filled cushions or pillows that are not lined with down-proof ticking, always use a soft brush by hand because vacuuming could pull the down out through the fabric.

Vacuuming will remove some dust but it will also scatter dust around so remember to vacuum the surrounding area when you are finished.

Different fabrics require different types of care. Here are some guidelines for cleaning window treatments and upholstered furniture.

Canvas, jacquard, and rayon:l Run a dry-cleaning sponge over

the fabric in short, even strokes to lift out dirt. Be careful on jacquard because delicate threads can pull and snag.l Add 2 capfuls of mild detergent to

a bucket of cool water. Dip in a sponge or cloth, wring out well and go over the fabric with long even strokes. Use as little liquid as possible to prevent mildew.l Allow to air dry.Leather and vinyl:l Vacuum the piece of furniture

using a soft brush on a low setting.l Slightly dampen a microfiber cloth

with water and rub the soiled areas. Water can remove dirt and it won’t permanently discolor the leather.l For deeper cleaning consult a

professional. Use leather cleaners and protectors with care, if at all, because they can stain some leathers.

Pile fabrics (such as chenille and corduroy) and wool:l Vacuum the piece on a low setting

with the upholstery brush, using long horizontal strokes. Do not use a hard brush attachment as this can pull on fabric and snag it.l A dry cleaning sponge or a slightly

dampened cloth can be used to lift dirt.l For deep cleaning, consult a pro.Slipcovers of cotton and linen:l Remove covers and machine wash

them on a delicate setting, following care instructions that are on the label, which is usually attached near the zipper. Hang to dry.

Slipcovers of silk:l Hand wash in a sink filled with

warm water and a capful of detergent. Or have them dry-cleaned. Hang to dry.

Slipcovers of suede:l Do not use any moisture on suede,

since it will be permanently stained. Use a product recommended by the manufacturer.l For deep cleaning, consult a pro.

Carpets and rugsOriental, antique or delicate rugs:l Be careful with these valuable,

delicate items. Do not vacuum them because suction from the vacuum can loosen threads from the weave. Instead, sweep gently with a soft nylon broom. l Water and cleaners can stain, so

always consult a specialist about any cleaning that needs to be done.

Natural fibers (such as wool, sisal and sea grass):l Vacuum on high power with a

brush with a beater bar attachment.l To remove ground-in dirt, push the

vacuum over spots several times.l Carpet cleaners can stain or bleach

out areas, so use a cloth dampened with water to get out any spots.l Blot dry and then allow to air dry.l If water does not get the stain out

you will need to do a little detective work. It is important to know what type of stain you are dealing with, as specific solutions are used on different types of stains. Using the wrong solution can permanently set the stain. l Never apply stain remover directly

onto the carpet; apply to a clean cloth instead and use the cloth to carefully work on the spot. If in doubt, consult a professional cleaner.

Synthetics (such as nylon, polyester and polypropylene):l Vacuum and spot-treat with water.

Synthetics often have a stain resistant finish applied, so water is usually enough to release spots and stains without using any cleaner. l Blot treated spots with a towel.l Use a soft carpet brush to raise the

pile of the carpet. This exposes fibers to the air so they will dry faster.

Generally speaking, when it comes to cleaning upholstery and carpet, keep it simple if you can. Always try using a cloth slightly dampened with water to gently lift spots out. Do not rub too much as this will grind in the stain.

Commercial spot removers can do more harm than good, so use sparingly, if at all. When in doubt, consult a professional cleaner.

Alene Keenan has been a megayacht stewardess for 16 years. She is the founder of Stewardess Solutions, which offers training and consulting for stewardesses. Contact her through www.stewardesssolutions.com. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

Upholstery, carpets, drapes need attention, not chemicals

Stew CueS

Alene KeenAn

C� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

Fried FishTwo whole small red snapper (other fish

can be used). Be sure to clean and scale it.

Season the snapper with salt and pepper and fry in oil until done. Flip while cooking to ensure even cooking.

Stock3 tablespoons oil 1/2 white sweet small onion, chopped

small4 thin slices fresh garlic1/2 cup bok choy

2 1/2 cups boiling water1/8 tablespoon ground pepper1/4 tablespoon salt2 fried small red snapper 12 squash blossoms

Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for two minutes.

Add the water, seasonings, fish and squash blossoms. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for four minutes.

Remove and serve in bowls with chopped herbs and sautéed bok choy on top.

Regenerative MealRecipe and photo by Mary Beth Lawton Johnson

The dish as pictured was made with red snapper, though other fish can be used. Whatever your choice, be sure to clean and scale it. PHOTO/MARY BETH LAWTON JOHNSON

IN THE GALLEY: Recipe

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C�

in a healthful way with our bodies. Last month, I wrote about how to

incorporate an Asian style into your menu onboard. This month, let’s take it a step further to incorporate the Chinese yin and yang into our menus, and how foods can work together.

Whether you call it a macrobiotic, healing or balanced diet, you are essentially dealing with the balance of foods, nature and the universe.

The Chinese refer to yin and yang as the beginning and the end, the negative and positive phases of chi, the earth and the sky.

Yin is peaceful, passive, dark, receptive, soft and feminine, resting, similar to a stewardess sitting on the yacht’s bow, watching the world go by.

Yang is masculine, bright, creative and hard and can be compared to a sailor hauling in a line. He is active.

Both yin and yang exist in all things. So when the peaceful stewardess gets up to clean the inside of the yacht, she becomes yang. When the sailor stops hauling in the line and rests, he becomes yin. They are one and the same, these two elements.

Yin and yang also apply to our personalities and physical makeup. If you are active and commanding, you are yang. If you have a gentle soul and diffuse situations, you are yin.

So if you have a yang-strong personality, you should eat more yin foods (but have some yang foods). If you are a yin, then you should eat more yang foods (but have some yin foods).

When you have an illness, you have either too much yin or too much yang foods in your diet and are not incorporating both to achieve balance. When balance is restored by eating both yin and yang foods, health follows.

Foods are hot or cold, and both affect the body. Yin foods are cool, have little or no salt, and grow above the soil. Yang foods are warm, have more salt content and grow below the soil.

To use this principle you need to eat both types of food. It is also a typically well-balanced diet, high in fiber and low in trans-fats, with lots of vegetables such as sea vegetables. This diet has little-to-no meat (except as a flavor in other foods) and organic, seasonal foods. Here are a few simple guidelines to follow to achieve a yin-yang balance.

1. Consume foods that are balanced energetically (yin and yang) and nutritionally.

Yin foods: Also known as cold foods; some seafood such as clams and oysters, cilantro are not to be eaten a lot. They are thought to cause stomach distress, dizziness, and coldness in the person’s body.

Yang foods: Also known as hot foods; peppers, garlic, curry, beef, turkey, shrimp, crab, mango, cherry, peanuts and fried items are thought

to cause rashes, hives, pimples and redness of the eyes. The Chinese culture looks down upon food that is toxic or poisonous such as beef, eggs, some seafood. The Chinese are not so interested in eating the basic five food groups as Americans do; they are more interested in the balance of foods.

2. Eat organically when possible. This is hard to do onboard. In foreign lands, we don’t always know where that head of lettuce or carrot was grown and if it is organic or not.

3. Eat superfoods such as berries, sea vegetables, whole grains without

gluten, nuts, miso, tempah.When the weather is warmer, eat yin

foods: watermelon, bananas, coconut, ice cream, mustard greens, watercress, bean sprouts, cucumber, bok choy, tofu, celery, oranges, pears, soybeans, winter melons, bamboo shoots, lotus and mung beans. Yin foods typically are steamed, poached or boiled.

When the weather is cooler, eat yang foods: chicken, crab, chili, ginger, garlic and onions, red meats, turkey, shrimp, mangos, brown sugar, pineapple, even chocolate. Yang cooking methods are deep frying, stir frying, grilling and

roasting.Even though this only touched

on the vast subject of yin and yang in foods, you will notice a difference in how you feel if you apply these principles to your eating habits.

Mary Beth Lawton Johnson is a certified executive pastry chef and Chef de Cuisine. A professional yacht chef since 1991, she has been chef aboard M/Y Rebecca since 1998. (www.themegayachtchef.com) Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

WAVES, from page C1

Yin and yang is found in all things, so look for it in foods, tooIN THE GALLEY: Yin and yang

Salty, sweet, savory and lip-smacking. The average American consumes some 22 pounds of snack foods a year, according to the Virginia-

based Snack Food Association.

Snacking, unfortunately, has received a bad rap as far as good nutrition is concerned because the images that come to mind are of chips, candy and cookies. But contrary to

popular belief, the act of snacking can be healthful. It’s all about what you choose.

Snacking can actually help, not hurt, everything from weight control to getting the most from your work out. That’s because eating a snack shortens the time between meals so you’re not quite so hungry and not as likely to overeat. And, from an energy perspective, snacking provides fuel. If you’re running on empty, you might feel too tired to work out or feel exhausted afterward.

Research shows that snack foods eaten prior to exercise ideally are low in fat and fiber to aid in digestion, high in complex carbohydrates to power up muscles, moderate in protein for satiety, and easy to consume.

After exercise, hydrating with ample fluids – especially water – is vital, followed by a mini-meal that provides a mix of carbohydrates, protein and fats that replenishes lost energy reserves.

Mini-meals can also help keep your blood sugar on an even keel, aid in maintaining a heart-healthy blood cholesterol level, promote proper gut function and provide opportunities for assuring your nutrient needs are met

throughout the day. When shopping for or choosing

snacks look for multi-nutrient foods, such as trail mix, for example. These taste good and have a pleasant crunch in the mouth, too. Just a handful or two will do.

Something that takes a bit of effort to eat makes a satisfying snack. This might be 2-3 tablespoons of hummus with a small pita bread or the same amount of low-fat yogurt dip with 6-8 baby carrots.

Good snack choices include ready-to-eat fresh and dried fruits and vegetables (serving size: 1 piece of fruit, ½ cup canned or cut fruit, or ¼ cup dried fruit); single-serve fruit cups in 100 percent juice; unsweetened

applesauce (1/2 cup); low-fat yogurt; 1-ounce portions of string cheeses; 1 whole grain roll, six crackers or 1 small muffin; single-serve tuna salad snack kits with water-packed tuna and crackers; breakfast bars; single-serve packets of cheese or peanut butter and crackers; individual packets of instant plain oatmeal; and 1-ounce bags of peanuts and pretzels.

Chosen wisely, snacks can work for you. As with all other food choices, you need to snack with variety, balance and moderation in mind.

Carol Bareuther is a registered dietitian and a regular contributor to The Triton. Comments on this column are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

NUTRITION: Take It In The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C�

Snacking: It’s good for you if you do it wisely

take It In

Carol Bareuther

Instead of: Try this:

A slice of chocolate cake 1 small low-fat blueberry muffin(about 235 calories) (185 calories)

3 sugar cookies 3 graham crackers (215 calories) (89 calories)

1 ounce bag of Reese’s Pieces 1 ounce of raisins (146 calories) (85 calories)

1 ounce of potato chips 1 ounce microwave lowfat popcorn (155 calories) (114 calories)

1 3-inch glazed cake doughnut 1 3-inch cinnamon raisin bagel (250 calories) (156 calories)

1 slice pecan pie 1 slice apple pie (541 calories) (296 calories)

1 cup vanilla pudding 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt(324 calories) (193 calories)

Snack food switch-a-roosIf you crave traditional snack foods, make the switch to something

that tastes just as good and is good for you, too. For example:

C10 June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton TRITON SURVEY: Loyalty

Have you ever left a good situation (boss and boat you liked) for another yacht?

Yes – 27.3%

No – 72.7%

Is loyalty something that is eroded or earned?

Eroded – 48.6%Earned – 51.4%

If you left a good situation, why?

Other – 7.5%

To be with my partner/family– 11.9%

The captain – 10.4%

If you had to put a time frame to being loyal to a boss (captain or owner), how long would it be?

2-3 years – 30.6%

4-5 years – 23.8%

A year – 18.3%

A season – 7.2%

6-8 years – 3.4%

9-12 years – 4.3%

13-16 years – 2.1%

More than 25 years –

6.4%

17-20 years – 1.7%

20-25 years – 2.1%

the more than 250 people who took the survey answered no, they weren’t loyal. They had nothing in common in terms of gender (two were men, two women) but three of them had been in yachting only a few years.

“As a crew member, I believe I have a certain level of responsibility (loyalty) to my shipmates, including the captain, the boat, owner(s), guests, etc.,” said the fourth crew member, who had been in yachting more than six years. “This is what I buy into, especially as an officer. I strive to be a team player, good leader and mentor to my usually much younger shipmates.

“In my experience, loyalty is typically a one-way street; expected of me, but not given in kind,” he said. “If an owner, captain and engineer (me) could lay the foundation for a mutually respectful relationship, I would go to the ends of the earth with them.”

See what we mean by tempting fate? Is this engineer loyal or not? So take these results with a grain or two of salt.

“Loyalty is tricky to define in yachting,” said someone in yachting 9-12 years, but who quanitifed loyalty as a season. “Do the owners owe us our jobs, or just fair notice and/or severance if they wish to make a change? Do we owe them staying for however long they want us, or just a decent amount of notice (not in the middle of their season) and some help finding and then handing off to a competent replacement crew?”

Our survey didn’t offer an answer for that, but here’s what we know. About 80 percent of respondents consider loyalty lasting five years or less. The largest group of respondents – 30.6 percent

– believes that being loyal to a boss meant staying put for 2-3 years.

“Crew need to realize they need to earn the owner’s respect through loyalty,” a crew member said. “Most crew do not stick around long enough. On past jobs, after more than a year onboard is really when the owners have rewarded long-term crew graciously.

“Captains and managers are fed up with the short-term crew,” he continued. “I will not even consider a crew member who cannot show at least 12 months employment on a previous boat. I have minimum 12-month commitments from all general crew, 24-month commitments from all department heads, and everybody wins. Longevity is a win-win once it is determined the chemistry will work.”

Nearly a quarter of respondents put that time in the 4-5 year range, while just more than 18 percent thought it was closer to a year.

“It takes about a year to find out if your loyalty is appreciated,” said a crew member in the industry 9-12 years. “Give it at least a year.”

Fifteen respondents (6.4 percent) thought loyalty meant staying put more than 25 years. Six of them had actually been in yachting more than 25 years.

“This is such a difficult question,” wrote one crew member, echoing the sentiments of many. “So often it depends on circumstances. I have been on boats were the loyalty to the boss probably starts at about five years.”

The largest group of crew who took our survey have been in the industry between 9-12 years. Looking just at this group, nearly 15 percent believed a season constituted loyalty, more than

‘In my experience, loyalty is typically a one-way street’SURVEY, from page C1

See SURVEY, page C13

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C11TRITON SURVEY: Loyalty

Have you ever left a good situation (boss and boat you liked) for another yacht?

Yes – 27.3%

No – 72.7%

If you left a good situation, why?

For money/career – 34.3%

Other – 7.5%

To be with my partner/family– 11.9%

Boss/crew known to me – 4.5%

The itinerary suited me better – 31.3%

What one thing would most make you leave a yacht job?

Being poorly treated by the boss – 58.8%Not feeling appreciated

– 13.9%

Other – 2.9% No benefits – 0.8%

Not enough money – 9.0%

No crew camaraderie – 10.2%

Lousy itinerary for me – 4.5%

What one thing would most make you stay in a yacht job longer?

Being treated well by the boss – 43.9%

Feeling appreciated – 22.5%

More money – 9.8%

Better itinerary – 6.6%

Other – 3.3%

Better crew camaraderie – 8.2%

More benefits – 5.7%

I do not feel most owners give loyalty in terms of a fair pay plus adding benefits as you are there longer, such as paid time off for upgrade or renewal courses and possibly paying for courses based on time worked. The added benefits should not start until you are there at least 24 months.

l l l

I have been with my employer for 16 years and counting. I am well paid, my boss treats me better than his own children and I get a “thank you” and “please” almost every day I’m around him (and her).

l l l

There is no real loyalty in yachting or any business. The boss will drop you like a hat if he sees fit. As soon as the boss says “you are part of the family,” look out. You are about to get fired or screwed out of money or time or both.

l l l

Loyalty is one of those things that a person either has or not. When you become a shipmate, there has to be loyalty right from the start. The camaraderie is necessary for a crew to function together.

l l l

Loyalty to bosses is decreasing and I honestly believe it is because crew are becoming burnt out. The more days, weeks and months in a row they are forced to work, the more they are going to want to break their loyalty and leave a particular boss. Many bosses forget that we are human and need to have some sort of a life.

l l l

Through all trial periods and various challenges you face, loyalty toward a boss, captain and crew erodes when one or all three of the following starts to happen: You are not paid on time; Your so-called contract terms change (for example, a review/raise

Some feel loyal, others feel cynical

See COMMENTS, page C14

C1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

learn, you will become useful and will gradually be appreciated. Only then will your new teammates begin to show genuine interest in your experiences. Remember why you are there. You have not joined a social club. Focus first on demonstrating and proving that you will be a useful, contributing team player. Once you have established that, your new crewmates’ interest in you as a person will become self evident.

Next piece of advice: Become the most valuable team member on the boat. Not just to your captain, but in the eyes of all your teammates. Easily said, but how do you do that? It’s simple and effective, but not easy. Here’s the secret: Do the things you don’t have to do, even when you think no one is looking.

Anyone who has worked on yachts for awhile knows that nothing goes unnoticed for long. Secrets don’t last in a crew and, eventually, the good, the bad and the ugly always come out. By genuinely doing more than what’s expected, even when you don’t think you’ll be recognized for it, you will quickly earn the respect of your teammates, department heads and your captain.

Just learning and performing your job is not enough to set yourself apart from the norm. After all, doing your job is what’s expected and is what you were hired to do anyway. To distinguish yourself, you must go further, and your efforts must be genuine, not contrived or patronizing. Brown-nosing or grand-standing is transparent and will only serve to undermine your cause.

So how do you find things to do? Simple, not easy. Learn to develop an awareness of the bigger picture of what’s going on around you and you will find opportunities to help your teammates.

Do not watch the clock and do not ask at the end of the day “is there anything else to do?” There is always something else to do, so make it your daily goal to identify something else that is within your skill set that will ease the burden on any member of your team, and jump in to help with that.

Another approach is to get a head start on tomorrow’s duties within your own department. Be willing to assist others with their watch duties without having to be asked.

As you practice this ethic, you will develop a greater awareness of what goes on around you, and it will become easier to identify opportunities to become more useful. Make this work ethic a habit and you will find yourself surrounded by allies, and you will be on your way to becoming the most valued member of your crew.

Finally, recognize that we are all a

work in progress and we will all die that way someday, never quite reaching our full potential. Make it your mission to try every day to get better at something, whether it’s your duties and responsibilities, your relationships with teammates, communication with supervisors, whatever.

The point is to develop the habit of trying to improve yourself in some way, every day, because like it or not, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. You cannot remain the same, and the world around you, especially in yachting, is constantly changing, incredibly fluid and dynamic. Why else do you think the first rule of yachting is to be flexible? You must resolve to improve yourself in some way, every day or the world will pass you by.

If you follow these three “simple, not easy” guidelines, you will build a reputation for professionalism and excellence that will not go unnoticed. This will gradually become your insurance policy against being let go, due to an uncontrollable circumstance. You may not be able to stop it, but you can effect your ability to rebound, right back into the job market.

Realize that in yachting, it’s often not the owner (although they are our most valued clients) who will open doors of opportunity for you. Rather it is your contemporaries, the other crew you’ve worked with and the captains and department heads you’ve worked for. Develop the right habits and that’s who your next job will come from.

If you strive to become the most valuable member of your team by using these “simple, not easy” techniques, you will be the one who is thought of first when opportunities arise on other boats in the future.

In spite of the recent economic turmoil, and the uncertainty it brings with it, yachting remains an exciting and dynamic industry for those who are willing to step out of the conventional box, leave their community, social and family lives behind, and work hard to help someone else realize their dreams.

As in any industry, when the number of opportunities diminish, it’s the people who are willing to do more than the average person, the cream of the crop who really aspire to excel and are willing to do more about it than just winge. Those are the ones who are remembered, get noticed and get the jobs.

I encourage all who are willing to do the work to adopt these simple ideas into your life, and wish you the best of success in your yachting career.

Capt. Gregory Clark is in command of the 163-foot Christensen M/Y Casino Royale and has built a reputation for retaining crew. Comments are welcome at editorial@the-triton.com.

EXPO, from page C1

Broaden your perspective by being aware of others’ workloads

FROM THE CAREER FRONT: Keeping your job

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C1�

double the number of crew overall.It’s hard to measure loyalty; harder

still to simply define it.“Loyalty is not something that

necessarily comes with time, nor has a time stamp on it,” one respondent said. “It can be earned in a short period and to a yacht (boss/owner/captain) and crew with a good working environment, shared goals and interests. All factors of one’s work environment play a role in earning one’s loyalty: pay, benefits, crew camaraderie, itinerary, appreciation by the boss/captain, treatment by boss/captain/fellow crew, etc. If any one aspect is not meeting expectation, one cannot expect a crew member to be loyal.”

“You need to define loyalty as 1. staying on the job, and 2. doing what is right and best to benefit the boat/ owner,” another wrote.

So we thought we’d ask questions to see if behavior revealed anything about loyalty, particularly if crew had ever left a good situation (a boss and boat they liked) for another yacht.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they had not; 27 percent had.

For those who had, we asked why.A full third of folks who left a good

situation did so either for the money or to move up in their career. The former possibly calls into question loyalty; the latter not so much.

“Some times you need to move on to move up,” one crew member said.

“Leaving a good job for another was due to the situation at hand,” wrote in another. “I’m still good friends with the previous owner.”

The next largest group – 21 percent – left for a better itinerary.

Though we didn’t ask it, seven respondents – more than 10 percent of the yes respondents for this question – wrote in that they left a good situation because of the captain. That, of course, begs the question, what was so good about the job if the captain’s actions or inactions made you leave? Still, the number of crew who mentioned the captain as their reason for leaving merits attention.

“Nobody leaves a ‘good’ job,” one crew member noted. “More times than not it’s the guy driving the boat who is ultimately to blame for not being appreciated, not being paid enough money, not fostering crew interaction and crew relations.”

And one respondent wrote in that while he liked the captain and the owner, the owner’s wife was too much. When she fired the captain, he quit.

The next two questions annoyed many respondents because they were only permitted to pick one answer from among a list, insisting that it’s usually more than one thing that prompts them to stay or leave. Still, we were trying to find the most important piece

of the crew-captain-owner dynamic. When asked “What one thing

would most make you stay in a yacht job longer?” about 44 percent of respondents chose “being treated well by the boss.” Closely related was “feeling appreciated,” which nearly a quarter of respondents chose. Together, realizing those attributes onboard would keep up to two-thirds of respondents happily onboard. More money would work primarily with fewer than 10 percent of crew.

“I don’t think you can attribute any one item as a reason to stay or go,” one crew member said. “I do believe a combination of these things with more emphasis placed on being appreciated and treated well by the boss weighing in more than the other factors.”

Many crew agreed.“More than one answer per question

is required to get the whole picture,” another replied. “It is usually a variety of things that make you loyal. You might put up with less pay to be with a crew/owner that are great to work with. There is more to life than money.”

When asked “What one thing would most make you leave a yacht job?” an even larger group of almost 60 percent chose “being poorly treated by the boss.” Adding the 14 percent who would leave because they didn’t feel appreciated, and about three-quarters of respondents said they would leave jobs for these intangible reasons.

In this question, even lousy crew camaraderie was more significant than low salary as a reason a crew leave.

“I am a fiercely loyal friend and crew member, but it is a rare thing to get it in return,” one crew member said. “No matter how you bend for the owners, and at times, the captain, I have found it unusual, indeed, to have an employer return the dedication. It makes you want to run, when you find that your commitment is so readily disposed of for convenience or finances.”

When reading responses like that, we understand how frustrating the current economy must be to so many good crew. And it must be hard to feel loyal when things like that happen.

We wondered how loyalty evolves on

board. Is it something automatically offered to the boss as part of their position and therefore must be eroded before crew leave? Or is loyalty something that must be earned before crew will stay? The results surprised us. They were pretty evenly split.

Slightly more than half of respondents (51.4 percent) said loyalty had to be earned. Slightly less than half (48.6 percent) said it must be eroded.

“Loyalty is a two-way street,” one crew member said. “You have to give it to receive it, and vice versa. It builds in small steps over time and is closely related to trust. All that being said, I feel there is little loyalty in the business. The lure of more money is more often than not a temptation that isn’t resisted. I have been with my boss 11 years and was with an earlier boss for eight years. My loyalty is now being rewarded monetarily and personally.”

“Your loyalty is earned and, with time, should be more appreciated, not expected,” another respondent wrote. “When it is your time to leave, it should be embraced, not thrown back at you.”

“Verbal appreciation accompanied by low pay is an example of eroded loyalty by an owner,” one crew member wrote. “My experience has been a new owner is usually willing to pay more to get a good employee than an existing employer is willing to keep one.”

“It does not take long for an employer to earn loyalty. You can usually get a good feeling about how you will be treated, and if there is any respect and appreciation for your knowledge and professionalism. These are some of the major factors I consider when evaluating whether my current job will be an interim or a long-term position. Plenty of thought should be put into where and who you choose to work for so as to avoid a sporadic and, seemingly, finicky resume.”

With such even results, we broke the numbers down to see how gender fit in. The numbers were pretty evenly split, but in opposite directions. For women, a slight majority gave loyalty immediately and said it must be eroded (53.6 percent); for men, a slight majority said it had to be earned (54.7).

We were curious to see if loyalty ended when ethics were breached. Most crew said their loyalty never caused a moral dilemma, but 42.8 percent said it had. Few chose to elaborate, which says a lot about their loyalty, don’t you think?

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Lawrence Hollyfield is an associate editor. Comments on this survey are welcome at lucy@the-triton.com. We conduct our monthly surveys online. All captains and crew members are welcome to participate. If you haven’t been invited to take our surveys and would like to be, register for our e-mails online at www.the-triton.com.

Has your loyalty ever caused you a moral dilemma?

No – 57.2%Yes – 42.8%

SURVEY, from page C10

Relatively rare for crew to leave good situation

STATISTICS/GRAPHICS BY LAWRENCE HOLLYFIELD

TRITON SURVEY: Loyalty

C1� June 2009 www.the-triton.com The Triton

is written in but because of a credit crunch it is not given); Your hours and responsibilities increase with absolutely no benefits or signs of appreciation.

l l l

My boss can be difficult from time to time, but knowing that he is a good person means so much. When my grandmother was dying, he put me on his private jet and made sure I made it there in time. That creates loyalty.

l l l

Loyalty is a reciprocal virtue. Employers typically get back the loyalty they demonstrate to their employees. A loyal employer encourages and generates loyal employee behavior, not the other away around.

l l l

If one is being treated well by the boss/owner, there is a 99 percent chance you also don’t have any problems with pay, benefits, appreciation, etc.

l l l

There are few owners that appreciate your loyalty. They are usually selfish and only think of themselves, not the crew.

l l l

Loyalty should be automatic until it is challenged. Loyalty is always a one-way street in the yachting world between an owner and a captain. The owner can and will turn his loyalty off in a second if it benefits him/her. Holding owners accountable is the only way to earn or keep their loyalty. Most of the time, it is the only thing they understand.

l l l

Like moral obligations, honor and loyalty are who you are about. Like anything else, you take the good with the bad, appreciate what you have and the good will find you. I have had a career of great owners and great crew. Good people will stay together, crews won’t change all the time and loyalty comes without saying.

l l l

I have heard that for every year you work for the boss, he owes you only a minute of loyalty.

l l l

Loyalty goes both ways. If a boss earns your loyalty, more than likely you have earned his.

l l l

Loyalty is important in yachting but not to the point that you put yourself at a disadvantage. At the end of the day, it is

business, then friendship.

l l l

I’ve found two captains that I’m loyal to and have worked on several boats with, both of whom look out for my best interest. I don’t even negotiate salary/benefits as they always offer me what’s fair and usually above what I was planning on asking for.

l l l

Thirty-plus years, five owners (three of the five have passed on). Loyalty and trust is what it is about.

l l l

Crew accommodations are important. I stayed aboard my first yacht for almost four years because I had my own cabin and head.

l l l

Loyalty does not exist in the yachting industry. Not among owners, crew, brokers, yacht services, boatyards. The whole industry is in the toilet because of it. Throw in greed, selfishness and a huge dose of ego and what you have is an industry on its heels (it started about five years ago). Yachting these days is all about status. All the values long associated with a love of the ocean and the islands and voyaging and meeting new people no longer exist.

l l l

For some reason everyone avoids the topic of captains who don’t have the ability to manage the vessel they are paid to run. Crew don’t leave good boats for no reason. Crew leave boats when the job stinks. It all starts at the top. Captains need to take a more skilled approach to hiring to insure crew are compatible. Captains need to step up a bit more to communicate to owners what the current salary requirements are. Captains need to take more time to acknowledge their crew’s efforts as they carry out their duties.

l l l

Loyalty is a virtue that some people will never possess and other people will never earn.

l l l

As a captain, you should assume your loyalty is expected from Day 1. Respect on both sides is something that is earned. They ultimately go hand in hand.

l l l

Salary should never be a factor; they are rock-star wages anyway. If you enjoy your position, stay, and stop going from yacht to yacht because you want more. This shows you are reluctant to give.

COMMENTS, from page C11

Boss’ good heart earns respectTRITON SURVEY: Loyalty

The Triton www.the-triton.com June 2009 C1�

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FREIGHT

In discussions with clients about their financial objectives, we often uncover things that need to be addressed but were put on a back

burner. This month, I thought it might be beneficial to identify some of the most common things I’ve found that can cause serious consequences by being left undone.

I like to review life insurance policies or have a home owner’s policy reviewed for a price quote. Many times, there are errors in coverage, beneficiaries, or ownership.

Keeping up with the correct beneficiaries on life insurance and investment contracts is a common problem. It is a sad situation when someone you love who had no relationship with an ex-spouse inadvertently leaves everything to that person instead of you. You can imagine how sad and uncomfortable these situations can become.

When marriage ends in divorce, many documents require name changes. Some of the more common documents requiring change are driver’s licenses, passports, green cards, wills and trusts. Make sure all documents are changed. Personal situations dictate what you should do and what works for your situation. What works for your family may not work for another family. Don’t forget to pay attention to living wills, medical directives and who is responsible for minor children should an untimely accident or illness occur to one or both parents.

This moves right into real life situations where people do not plan for their own death. This is often a difficult set of decisions that are frequently left for someone else in the family to address. This situation forces someone to try to be fair for all family members but the likelihood of doing what was intended almost never works in reality.

Frequently, people neglect to consider name changes associated with property and casualty insurance. This can result in serious consequences should a claim need to be made. To pay a claim, the insurance must be in the insured person’s correct, current name.

Some of the most common problems that impact property and casualty insurance typically are created by name changes that impact this coverage. Revocable Trusts typically are created

to ensure that a property is protected from liability and not involved in probate.

When a revocable trust is created, it becomes owner of the property, typically through the quit claim deed process. The problem is now that the owner of the property is the trust (an entity), not a person or persons.

Some insurance carriers will not insure a property that is owned by a trust and you don’t find out until you try to make a claim. In this example, the trustee is no longer valid as the insured. Many people don’t think to tell their insurance agent about the change in ownership because they consider themselves as the owner since they are the trustee.

The coverage for liability on a home really can become an issue when the trust is named in a lawsuit for an

injury and coverage is in your name as it was before the house was put in a trust. A carrier may deny coverage in this case. Don’t let situations like this end up in court.

You can cause an even greater problem if

you leave an insurance policy in your name and then decide to rent your home to someone else. Know that you have changed the use of your property from “home owner” covering yourself and your property to “renter” covering only the property with no liability for someone else.

The insurance cost will tend to be higher but if you have a claim and the insurance company denies it, then your cost could be more than the difference you would have paid in your annual premium.

Don’t rely on the fact that insurance companies will understand that you just did not know the impact of not changing your insurance coverage and offer the coverage you want but did not pay the higher premium for.

Unfortunately, we often do not find out the impact of some of our decisions – or non-decisions – until we have the need for a claim. I encourage as many readers as possible to review their personal risks and include professionals to help in that process as there are options available in many situations. A good financial person can help identify the financial impact of decisions but remember that ultimately you must make your decisions.

Capt. Mark A. Cline is a chartered senior financial planner and mortgage broker. He is a partner in Capital Marine Alliance in Ft. Lauderdale. Comments on this column are welcome at +1-954-764-2929 or through www.capitalmarinealliance.net.

YaChtIng CapItal

MArK A. Cline

Common things left undone can cause serious consequences

Some insurance carriers will not insure a property that is owned by a trust .

PERSONAL FINANCE: Yachting Capital

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Abeam Marine A6 Advanced Mechanical Enterprises C14After 5 Island Concierge B6Alexseal Yacht Coatings B18Antibes Yachtwear B10ARW Maritime B8Atlantic Marine & Shipyard C4Bahamas Yacht Management A8Bay Ship and Yacht Company B13Bellingham Marine A16Bertling Logistics A20Big Blue Unlimited C5BOW Wordlwide Yacht Supply A24Brownie’s Yacht Diver A21Business card advertisers C16-19BWA Yachting C6The Business Point B13CYA Comprehensive Yacht Assurance B6C&N Yacht Refinishing A2Cable Marine C8Certified Sales A20Crew Insurance Services C4Crew Unlmited A12, B10City of Dania Beach C6

D&G Company C14Dennis Conner’s North Cove Marina A6Dockwise Yacht Transport B2,B4Elite Crew International C13FenderHooks A10Global Marine Travel A7,A12Global Satellite C3Global Yacht Fuel A10Gran Peninsula Yacht Center B4HeadHunter A9International Registries C11Kemplon Marine B17Lauderdale Marine Center B3Lauderdale Propeller A8LinkScape B9Luxury Yacht Group A13,A17Mail Boxes Etc. C15Marina Bay Marina C12Maritime Professional Training C20Matthew’s Marine A/C B17Mediterranean Market B15MHG Marine Benefits A13,B20Moore & Company B8Nautical Ventures B14

Neptune Group B14Newport Shipyard C10Newport Yachting Center A10Northern Lights C9Northrop and Johnson B7Ocean Medical International B11Palladium Technologies C2Pembroke Gun & Range A20Peterson Fuel Delivery A6Praktek A11Professional Tank Cleaning & Sandblasting A6Quiksigns C15R&L Yacht Refinishing B16Renaissance Marina B13Richman Marine B16Rio Vista Flowers C12River Supply River Services A20Romora Bay Marina & Resort B11Rope, Inc A10Roscioli Yachting Center C7Rossmare International Bunkering B14RPM Diesel A4Sailorman A2 Seafarer Marine A22

SeaMobile A3Sea School B16Secure Chain & Anchor C9Secure Chain & Anchor/Inflatables C13Smart Move C5Spin-A-Thon “Thank You “ Ad B19Stop and Shop Deli B7SunPro Marine A5Super Yacht Support B14Tender Care Boats B6Tess Electrical Sales & Service B19The Pain Reliever B17Total Marine Solutions B5TowBoatUS B6Town of Palm Beach C5Tradewinds Radio C14Turtle Cove Marina B14Ward’s Marine B12West Marine A9Westrec Marinas A14Wright Maritime Group A15Yacht Entertainment Systems C4Yacht Services of Alaska C9Yacht Zoo A5

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